The Extent of Women's Rights Vindication by the Beginning of the Twenty-First - Essay Example

? The Extent of Women's Rights Vindication by the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century Mary Wollstonecraft is regarded as one of the pioneers of the feminist thought, which she clearly brought out in her 1792 book, A vindication of the Rights of Woman. Her book helped to raise issues that women experienced in society and bring them up for discussion in the open. She argued that both men and women should be regarded as intellectual equals. She helped raise the issues of women’s right to education. Although written in the 18th century, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman provides a lot of insights on the issues faced by women and feminism in the 21st century. Wollstonecraft is considered as the mother of feminism and her views have helped shape the feminist movements across Europe and in the entire world. In her book, she examines the question of education and the significance of giving women a more liberal education so as to provide an equal platform for both men and women in the society. She also advocates for more treatises to be written with regard to the nature and existence of the gender differences that exist between women and men in the society (Wollstonecraft, 2009). She also criticizes her contemporary scholars such as Rosseau, who had stated that women should only be taught to obey and respect their male counterparts. Wollstonecraft fought against such misconceived philosophies and disrespect to women, who in her opinion should be equal to men. She was also critical of Edirne Burke’s opinion that men should only govern themselves. The main premise of Wollstonecraft’s argument was that the society can be much better place with the future of children made much easier if only women receive the same education as men. For a long time in the history of human beings, women have been regarded as being inferior to women. They were left out of decision making processes in the community and their roles in the society reduced to reproduction and production. Women were revered by men, but only for their looks and appearance, their reproductive capacity and for their little contribution to the economy of the society. These led to women being viewed more as objects of fulfillment of men’s desires, rather than as human beings. It’s only with the ideas of critical individuals such as Wollstonecraft who questioned the place of women in the society, which gave rise to feminism and feminist movements. There have been significant improvements in the way the society perceives the role of women since the publication of Wollstonecraft’s book. Women in the 21st century can now have access to education, employment, legal and civil rights, as well as enjoying freedoms and responsibilities that they did not enjoy in the 18th century. There is however still a lot that need to be done in this respect, to ensure that women occupy a more respected place in the society and be treated equally as men. There are still cases of vindication of women’s rights today in the 21st century. Women still face a lot of challenges battling with stereotypes and a conservative culture that does not give them an opportunity to explore their potential (Gordon, Lyndall 2005). According to Wollstonecraft, the place of women in the society can only be said to have improved if the women can be treated as useful and rational citizens. Once this is achieved, women will be considered being equal to men. She further states that the only way this can be achieved is through forming good friendships and between men and women and that both should recognize that they are rational creatures and no one is better than the other. Wollstonecraft’s writings on feminism glimmer some of the issues women encounter in the modern society. A vindication of the rights of women is a very good example of an unbelievably insightful look in to the life of women in the society. Basically, the text examines the conditions of women, women’s’ rights. There have been various changes in the social roles of women since Wollstonecraft wrote her book, most of which have had a huge positive effect on improving the lives of women. Women have been granted civil rights such as voting rights as well as property rights. They have freedom in their places of work and have access to equal education with men. With the challenges of the 21st century, women have been encouraged to develop and improve other interests other than just their fashion and style. They need to take up leadership roles, empower and inspire other young women, overcome cultural barriers to achieve their objectives and realize their dreams in the same environment as the men. In order to fully examine the extent to which women’s rights have been vindicated by the beginning of the 21st century, it is important to look back at what women experienced in the previous centuries so as to fully understand the nature of the struggles of feminism. Wollstonecraft’s examination of the place of women in her society in the 18th century is a great starting point since she is considered one of the greatest and pioneer liberal thinkers in the feminism ideology. In her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she examines the various structures in the society that look down upon women. She not only advocated for recognition of political rights for women but also other social rights and the betterment of the status of women for an improved society. Among some of the major themes in her book that continue to affect women in the contemporary society include; Rational Education Contrary to a popular philosophy that existed in the 18th century that women were fragile and too emotional to undertake any rational thought, it has been proved that women are no different from men if not better, when they are given the opportunity. Women can only contribute significantly to the society if they are prepared to do so by the society itself. Even in marriage, women have to be fully prepared to meet the challenges that they may encounter with their spouses. Wollstonecraft’s argument was that the only way the place of women can be improved in the society was through rational education. Women have to be given an opportunity to go to school and advance their studies as they prepare for their future lives. Education would also give women an opportunity to maximize their rational capacity, which will bring them to the same level as me. Both men and women are rational human beings and no one is greater than the other. Any perception that women are irrational and inferior human beings is a misconceived perception, not based on any scientific proof but rather cultural standards. Back in the 18th century, very few women had the opportunity to go to school and get employed in different professions. The situation has however improved and at the start of the 21st century, more and more women were getting an equal opportunity to receive education just like the men (Taylor, 2003). The situation however still needs to improve a lot so as to help create the view that women are equal with men. More women need to take up technical courses and jobs such as Engineering and physical Sciences. This is one of the challenges that women have faced since the beginning of the 21st century. There are still fewer female scientists and engineers as compared to men. Gender Equality During Wollstonecraft’s time, there were no feminism movements and the feminist ideology had not yet been born. She did not therefore use the terminologies used in the 21st century by feminists in their quest for gender equality. This however did not deter her from being very vocal on the issue of gender equality. She argues that men and women should be regarded as equal creatures capable of rational thought. She stated that both women and men should be subjected to the same moral laws because they are both equal in the eyes of God. Her augments exposed the double standards that existed in the society which required women to practice different virtues from men since they were lower human beings. She called upon the educated men in her society to initiate projects to improve the status of women since most of the women were not educated. Women in the 21st century still battle with issues of gender equality. There have been substantial developments across Europe and a general recognition that both women and men should be treated as equal human beings. There are feminist movements that spearhead gender issues. On a closer examination of the issue, there still exist huge discrepancies in the way people perceive gender equality issues. At the beginning of the 21st century, despite there being a general view that women are equal with men, it was still very hard for women to compete for jobs, political offices, appointments, education among other things, with men. This is because of the conservative culture that still ties people to their old ideologies. Sensibility Wollstonecraft urges women not to succumb to their senses and emotions so that they can rationally advocate for a better place in the society (Wollstonecraft, 2003). Excessive sensibility inhibits critical thinking. Women who succumb to false sensibility and emotions not only harm themselves but also the entire society. According to Wollstonecraft, such women cannot effectively contribute to the development of the society and can only help to bring it down. She however notes that reason and emotions are not wholly independent of each other but they are meant to inform each other. Wollstonecraft urges women to be strong enough to confront issues without letting their emotions hold them down. She also calls upon women not to be enslaved by their own bodies and beauty or their sexual desires. There are a lot of things that women can do without necessarily being considered as objects of sex due to their beauty. The question of sensibility among women is still a major factor to women’s issues in the contemporary society just as it was in the 18th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, women encountered difficulties from fellow women to expand on their potential. It was noted that women were their own enemies. This is because of failing to support some of their own, who have taken steps ahead due to any differences that they may have. This has been one of the stumbling blocks towards development of women especially politically. It is expected that since there are more women than men in the demography, it would be easier for women to be heard and have their issues raised and discussed at the table. This has not however been the case. Mary Wollstonecraft’s book, A Vindication of the rights of Woman, is still a relevant book in the 21st century in as much as it was in the 18th century when it was published. Despite there being significant changes and improvements in the status of women in the society since the book was first published, women still experience a lot of issues that need to be resolved so as to have a society where both men and women coexist as equal members of the same species (Kaplan, 2002). References Gordon, L. (2005). Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft. Great Britain: Virago. Kaplan, C. (2002). "Mary Wollstonecraft's reception and legacies". The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Ed. Claudia L. Johnson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Taylor, B. (2003). Mary Wollstonecraft and the Feminist Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wollstonecraft, M. (2003). The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft. Ed. Janet Todd. New York: Columbia University Press. Wollstonecraft, M. (2009). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Deidre Shauna Lynch. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. Read More