Preview

Equal Rights for Women

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1626 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Equal Rights for Women
Women have long been fighting for equal rights in every sphere of society. Land ownership, choice of marriage partner, and right to work or leave the house are a few of the basic rights that many men and women take for granted. Many nation-states have been reluctant to treat women as full citizens, entitled to the full array of civil and human rights, because they view them as incomplete national subjects . The issue of women being viewed as incomplete national subjects is three-fold; male-dominated societies, class and caste systems, and religion have all caused this trend to exist and continue.
There are many male-dominated societies around the world, including much of South-East Asia and Africa. Women have had a complicated and often violent time securing rights and fighting oppression in these male-dominated societies struggling against class and caste systems. A greater challenge to progression of women's rights is the underpinning of religion in their societies. India is a leading example of a male-dominated society struggling in a religious caste system. Women's place in Indian society has been extremely fixed in nature, and has kept women at a low rung on the ‘status-ladder'.
The main handicap of women in India, and truly world-wide, has been that of childbirth. The bondage of reproduction has left women reliant on men for food, protection and shelter. While men are able to do work viewed as productive, women are treated as property bought and sold as chattel to reproduce. Male-domination and this view of women being owned results in young marriages; this is believed to guarantee the virginity of the girl. In India, Hindu religious leaders decreed that a girl should be married soon after the beginning of puberty, and that the age of ten is considered puberty. For Hindu girls, this means that they have little chance at education past this age, and truly many do not even receive education before. Traditional beliefs on whether women should

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Since the beginning of the 20th century when the international community came up with the law guiding human rights, various nations have also enacted specific bills to provide equal rights to their citizens. However, there are certain aspects which are common to all human rights across the globe. That is; they are inalienable, indivisible and inherent in every human being. Unfortunately, the well pronounced human rights as they may be understood have not guaranteed women in many countries equal rights to that of their men…

    • 8928 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Six decades after the country's independence, and during the 21st century Female foeticide still continues in India. Women constitute half of the population in India, meaning half of the population has been deprived of its self-respect and subjugated into its grim existence. Infant mortality in India remains higher than that of males. The percentage of girls enrolled in schools is 49% compared to 73% of boys, and the percentage of employed women has dropped from 71% to 41%. Crimes against women have also increased. More than 4,000 cases of rape were reported per year, approximately fourteen rape crimes a day, which is equivalent to one or two rape crimes every hour. Females are usually looked down on by their parents, some might even kill their own daughter or continue to reproduce until one of them is male.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bcom 275 Final Paper

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In America women have the right to work, vote, and own just about anything that they can afford. The only thing limiting them is their credit score, or the limit that the bank determines. These may seem like rights that are universal because the reality of America is not the dismays that other countries have to deal with. In other countries this luxury of Equal Rights is not common, and is actually rejected and avoided by all costs. Some countries do not believe in these rights because of their religion, and what they’ve been taught. How can a fundamental value not be learned? Other countries just do not know any different than the man as the hunter or provider, and the woman as the caregiver or housekeeper. These roles in America only recently began to be shared amongst the genders, and to this day these roles are not confirmed by any means. Other countries are beginning to open their mind to other policies mostly because of influences of other cultures, and it is about time this happens. Some of the horrifying conditions that women in India have to deal with are issues that no women would ever want to fathom, and is very unfortunate. Not always being granted the ability to gain an education, being married at a youthful age without any say in the choice of a partner, and unwanted abortion of female fetuses are just a few that surface news channels. Those disturbing issues listed above are what these women have to deal with regularly and have no hope of these problems ever changing because of what some people in some cultures call beliefs. Media has placed great emphasis on the stories that depict that the women’s rights in India have been improving over the past few decades. Improvement can be misinterpreted when a third world country is involved, because any change that is not for the worst can be…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism In Modern Society

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Today women in India have far greater constitutional rights than before, but are still exploited in the society. A typical Hindu family or society is divided hierarchically, where women are always placed at the bottom. Goddess worship in Hindu society has not necessarily entailed women an equitable position in the society. Even the Hindu epics are evidence of this claim, and are supported by two major incidents.…

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    School

    • 792 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First Slide>>Introduction- Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions in which they are deprived of their basic human rights for no other reason than their gender. Women throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia were unable to have any influence over the political, religious or cultural lives of their societies. They couldn’t own property or inherit land and wealth, and were frequently treated as property themselves.…

    • 792 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In India, tradition has spawned a chain that imprisons women. It is rusted with rape, acid throwing, and forced prostitution. And as a woman myself, I have seen the links of this chain during visits to Sri Lanka. To marry, women are pressured to pay a dowry and provide a house. If a woman is destitute, she will not marry or have a family. The culprit, tradition, cleaves a chasm between the rights of men and women to prevent a bridge of gender equality.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Often in literature as in life, characters and people experience discrimination, racial injustice, educational inequalities, poverty, and pollution. Among these characters and people, some can become negativly affected. Among those who are negatively affected, there are always those who fearlessly stand up for their beliefs. Standing up for what someone believes requires extreme bravery. Throughout history many people worked to have their voices heard. Sojourner Truth, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Shirley Chisholm used their voices to create change. Authors also used literature as a vehicle to create change through fictional characters’ voices and actions. - The level of bravery illustrated paved the way for change.…

    • 1967 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "I think a lot of women said, Screw that noise. 'Cause they had a taste of freedom, they had a taste of making their own money, a taste of spending their own money, making their own decisions. I think the beginning of the women's movement had its seeds right there in World War Two.” This is a quote by Dellie Hahne, an educator who had worked as a nurse's aid for the Red Cross during World War II. Indeed, World War II was the first major breakthrough in women’s treatments, rights, and wages that were used to support their livings.However, women should have received even more than they got, they should have obtained equal treatment and pay as the men during World War II because they equally contributed; they maintained the society and country just like men; they even accomplished lots of achievements by reaching their full potential.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women's Rights In America

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Women's rights have been a strong issue for many years. I have heard arguments of all kinds regarding this issue. Some people have said that women and men are equal in America, and others have said that women are treated better than men. Though they had their points (and wouldn’t listen to mine), women are not equal to men. Some of the things that aren't equal for both sexes are cost of products, pay, parental leave, and representation. The fact that these things aren't equal in our society today is crazy. Women should have the same rights and opportunity as men.…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout most of history, women had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men did. Women mostly had jobs as a seamstress or kept boarding houses, some of the women had the same jobs as men. For an example, according to “Women’s History in America” in 1890 a slim amount of the women were doctors, but 95% of doctors were men in the United States. Another example of what women were not allowed to do is vote, married women were not allowed to obtain property rights, if a couple happen to get a divorce woman had no parental rights, and women had to obey laws even though they had no say in the law in the first place. This is just a few of the many unequal things that happened to women. It is a turning point in women’s history…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For centuries, equal rights have been a problem for countries. America was depicted as the home of the free and was a growing country in progress. Immigrants planned on seeking refuge in America and later save enough money to go back to their home country. Later, immigrants decided on settling in America and to raise their family in hopes of a better future for their children. Their home country may have been going through a phase of a war, discrimination, or environmental issues. Long ago, women soon began to grow tired of being a housewife and soon demanded equality. However, with the help of many inspirational leaders, this gave the lives of many to have equal rights and tremendous progress has been shaped then by how it was before.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As all nations progress into the 21st century, equality for everyone is a common matter that people seek for. Women in particular have been leave out in many nations and being undermine on their abilities and strengths to accomplish a task. In the United States, the 19th amendment not only allows women to vote, but it opens up a whole new world for women’s equality. Now, many nations have indulged themselves to value and respect women as they step up to their plates whether it would be at home or work.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In some nations it is clear that women have the same status as men, while in others, they are left behind in many decision making sectors of the state…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Woman's Rights

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages

    I have heard this Chinese phrase few years ago, “Women hold up half of the sky.” Today, both men and women can work outside the house; basically they got almost the same rights either in families or in society. Men are no longer the central of the family, and women also are no longer slaves of the family. However, can you image in the past decades, women have no rights and positions neither in families nor in society. The only things that the society gave them were their abilities to give birth and work as slaves in the house for the men.…

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Indian society is quite hypocritical in their treatment of women as people idolize female deities, but then victim blame women when they are attacked. Likewise, traditions cast women to be weak victims through traditions like securing “safety ties” around their brothers’ wrists as a symbol of protection. Women are expected to be submissive, feminine, and obedient to their husbands. Therefore, when Indian women break their prescribed gender role, they are deprived of the right to freedom and independence without…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics