...Status of Women in India: Women in ancient India were held in high esteem. The position of a woman in the Vedas and the Upanishads was that of a mother (maata) or goddess (Devi). In the Manusmriti, woman was considered as a precious being o be projected first by her father, then by her brother and husband and finally by, her son. With the passage of time, the status of woman was lowered. Muscle power and money power dominated the societies. Since men fought the wars and ran the enterprises of industrial production, they considered themselves superior to woman. In the early Vedic age, girls were looked after with care. They were given the facilities of education. Remarriage of windows was permitted. But in the later Vedic period, daughters were regarded as a source of misery. The practice of polygamy deteriorated the status of woman. Women in the later civilizations were not allowed to go to schools. In the Gupta period, they were allowed to listen to the scriptures. In the medieval period, the practices of purdha system, dowry and sati came into being. Sati and PolyGram were glorified.. It is thought that the right place for woman ins the home. Her main duty is to cook to all other menial jobs. They are considered fit for producing and bringing up children. Thus, women have been deprived of their rightful place in society and exploitation. has been going on for centuries. The inhuman practice of sati where the wife burns herself alive in the funeral pyre of husband existed...
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...THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE WORLD TODAY Since the early days of the Industrial Revolution women in Europe and North America have made considerable progress towards equality with men, although much remains still to be done. Of course, the industrialization of Western countries at first had not improved the status of women, but had degraded them even further by exploiting them and their children in factories as cheap labor. In the preceding relatively prosperous agrarian culture women had worked on an almost equal footing with men and had been skilled in many occupations. Families were still "producing units", and women received recognition for contributing their substantial share. The factory system changed all that by breaking up the traditional extended family with its large household and by giving people specialized monotonous tasks behind perpetually moving machines. Women and children were, however, paid much less for such work than men, and thus their economic "value" declined. It took many decades of struggle before unionization and legal reform ended the crassest form of this discrimination. At the same time, middle- and upper-class women were increasingly confined to the home with little to do except to take care of their children. Their husbands no longer worked inside the house, but were absent during most of the day. These idle women often played the role of frail, sensitive creatures who had "the vapours" and fainted in any "indelicate" situation. On the other...
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...Status of Women in Botswana Linda Ruzzo Status of Women in Botswana Botswana government leaders began with a vision in 1997, their vision was to make the country a better place to live for its citizens. The government has proposed equalization between genders. This will be a challenge since the majority of citizens are Tswana and their culture is to have women be subordinate. This is in relationship to job, inheritance, sexual behavior, abortions, and sexual harassment (Mookodi, Ntshebe, & Taylor, 2004). Culture Over 75% of the population is Tswana, their culture makes a clear division between public-political and the private-domestic world. Women are largely responsible for child care and taking care of the home (Mookodi et al., 2004). Women hold a significant proportion of the electorate; but they hold only 9 of the 40 parliamentary seats ("MDG," 2010). This is possibly why 46% of the households now are headed by women and women are presently choosing not to marry ("MDG," 2010). This is the world’s highest ratio of female headed households. At this time 33.1% of women live below the poverty level ("MDG," 2010, p. 34). Healthcare Botswana has the second largest rate in HIV within its borders and in its pregnant women at 38% ("MDG," 2010). In 2009 the estimate still stood at over 300,000 adults living with HIV, or twenty-five percent of its population over the age of fifteen years old. The high rate of HIV in pregnant women is caused by three central...
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...AND STATUS OF WOMEN IN NEPALESE SOCIETY Submitted to: Dr. Ek Raj Ojha Kathmandu College of Management Submitted by: Pragya Uprety Rabi Rayamajhi Manish Agrawal BBA Third Semester December 5, 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “The role and status of women in Nepalese society “ is a group report presented for the partial fulfillment of the course of economic development. This report contains facts and figures that provide insight on the condition of majority of women in Nepal in the past as well as in the present. Moreover, it also highlights and emphasizes their role and importance in the context of economic development of the nation. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all who have directly and indirectly co-operated with us in the preparation of this report. Specially, we would like to thank our college, Kathmandu College of Management (KCM) and Dr. Ek Raj Ojha , our course instructor for providing us with this opportunity. Lastly, we’d like thank Mr. Sujan karki for providing us with some of the references that proved to be of immense use while preparing this report. Sincerely, Pragya Uprety Rabi Rayamajhi Manish Agrawal and Anurag Joshi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………2 II. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..5 A. The Urgency………………………………………………………………..6 B. Key facts……………………………………………………………………8 III. STATUS OF WOMEN...
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...MAGAYA v MAGAYA 1999 (1) ZLR 100 (S) Division: Supreme Court, Harare Judges: Gubbay CJ, McNally JA, Ebrahim JA, Muchechetere JA Subject Area: Civil Appeal Date: 2 November 1998 & 16 February 1999 Judgment Number: S-210-98 Constitutional law — Constitution of Zimbabwe 1980 — Declaration of Rights — s 23 — protection against discrimination — discrimination on grounds of sex — exemption of customary law from prohibition of discrimination Customary law — succession — heir at customary law — whether female able to inherit late father’s estate Human rights — women’s rights — discrimination on the grounds of sex — whether Legal Age of Majority Act had created positive rights or had only removed legal disabilities The deceased died intestate. His estate consisted of a house and some cattle. He had entered into marriages with two wives, both marriages being according to African law and custom. The appellant, a female, had been born 1941 and was the child of the deceased’s first wife. The respondent, a male, had been born in 1946 and was the child of the deceased’s second wife. The appellant was thus the eldest child of the deceased. The respondent was not the eldest male child of the deceased, but the eldest male child had declined the heirship. A community court had originally appointed the appellant as heir to the estate, but on application from the respondent to the community court, the appointment of the appellant had been set aside and, after a hearing at which all...
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...This paper will explore the roles that gender and feminism plays alongside other determinants to affect the health status of Aboriginal Canadian women. Determinants of health refer to the circumstances in which people are born, live, grow, work, and age, that are responsible for most of the health inequalities that exist. Common determinants contributing to sub-par health status include: early child development, education, income, employment, social and physical environment, personal health practices and coping skills, access to health services, racism, and gender. These determinants work alongside Aboriginal-specific determinants like cultural identity, self-determination, and colonialism to create significant health discrepancies compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians. Aboriginal women are at an even greater disadvantage because of the role gender plays on top of the other determinants. The term gender refers to the socially constructed perceptions of feminine and masculine and is not to be confused with sex, which refers to the biological differences between men and women (Steckley and Letts 2010). While the two are different concepts, they are closely related and do influence each other because while biology may condition behaviour, it is in turn conditioned by the social environment (Halseth 2013). Health is also a social construct and issue, rather than simply a medical and technical problem associated with body parts and their functions. Because it is defined by and shaped...
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...Women Status and Eastern Religions The Eastern religions are a major part of the world religions. They have a significant influence on the women status. We will try to examine Korea’s Shamanism, Japan’s Shintoism, and India’s Buddhism and attempt to see how women status be change throughout the course of the time. Since two thousand five hundred BCE, Shamanism is an indigenous religion in Korea. Shaman is a medium between the physical and spiritual worlds. Typically, Shamans are mostly women. They are responsible to contact spirits, to obtain wisdom, guidance, future knowledge, healing cures, and good fortune. In order to becoming a Shaman, there are three steps. First, one is called to be a Shaman. One cannot be a Shaman by one’s will and need to be chosen. Second, one will first experience a lot of suffering. For example, one will have illness, madness, poverty, family issues. Third, one will experience spontaneous prophecy and trances. If the one refuse the call, one will suffer more illness and misfortune. If the one accept the call, it will lead to relief of the suffering. If the woman is in a marriage, the marriage tends to dissolve. Shaman bonds with other shaman. The young shaman will get train by the older shaman. After the initiation ceremony, prophecies will come pouring out of the new Shaman. She is able to make a living. She will provide wisdom from the spirits: great mother spirit, deceased ancestors (clan leader individual). Primary...
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...As suggested by Ebrey (1996: 192), “[r]etreating to a monastery to nunnery offered a new alternative to the world-weary”,which is especially appealing to women and particularly high-born widows. In the Chinese patriarchy society, women faced many limitation and inequality, and Buddhism provided an alternative life path option for women who did not fit in the traditional family/social structure. Of course Buddhism did not promote gender equality: women were seen as “polluted” (Banerjee 1985: 20), and the female incarnation was of a lower rank of the male. However, the female status was considered as temporary and could be changed in afterlife (Ebrey 1996: 194). Monastic life was open to both men and women alike and both gender were encouraged equally to enter the...
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...Mariama Bessane Professor Perine James American History 1151- Essay #1 Jan 7th,2016 Status of Women in Colonial Society Women were always considered inferior to men since day one. That belief had been existing until the eighteen century. During that period, English Colonists brought to America their ideologies with them. Women did not have the same rights as men did during that time. Women were tied in a leash, kept in the dark, and controlled by society. Life wasn’t easy for them. They were not allowed to express their opinions, and if they did, they would be called wicked or evil and be negatively judged by society. During the colonial era, women played an important, if restricted role in work and religious life. During the eighteen century, women were portrayed as weak, unintelligent, and inferior to men. As one minister stated “the woman is weak creature not endowed with like strength and constancy of mind.” (America 70) Women were seen as the “feebler vessels,” not as strong physically or spiritually as men and less emotionally stable. Women of the colonial era were expected to be devoted, passive, powerless, meek, graceful, sympathetic, and above all pure. As a matter of fact, the term “Cult of Womanhood” was an ancient ideology in the eighteen century defining women as pillars of virtue, who represent the value of pity, submissiveness, and domesticity. The role of the women was to be obedient, submissive, devoted to their husbands, and taking care of the children...
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...judges and audience, today in this august, and competitive occasion, I would like to deliver speech on the topic “women`s status in our society” Respected audience: Before the advent of Islam, women were no better than animals. They were exploited, and treated like a commercial commodity. They had no rights, no privilege and not status in the society. Above all, the birth of a female child was thought to be a curse. They holy Quran, explained this way: …. … … (- وإذا بشرأحدهم بالأنثى ظل وجهه مسودا وهو كظيم – النحل-58) When news is brought to one of them, of the birth of a female child, his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief. It is Islam, the complete code of life, which raised their position in the society. Islam bestowed upon women all kinds of rights, whether it be social, educational, matrimonial, political or economic. According to Islam, the world and all things in it are valuable, but the most valuable thing in the world is a virtuous woman. At the very beginning, Islam bestowed great importance to women. The prophet Muhammad (SAWS) peace be upon him, shows the importance of woman as follows: الجنة تحت أقدام الأمهات“Heaven lies under the feet of mother”. If a girl is born to anyone ……and he does not bury her alive, nor ill-treated nor discriminates her, lord shall grand the bliss of paradise. Dear audience: Needless to add, that Islam granted women share of inheritance from parents. The following Quranic Aayah is meaningful in this regard: (للرجال نصيب مما...
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...Did the status of ethnic minorities and women change in the 1960’s? There is little doubt that the 1960’s was a decade that changed American culture in a huge way. Not only did the black community gain large amounts of equality but other minority groups such as Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, the Asian community and although not a minority group Women. There two main types of feminists in the 1960’s; liberal feminists that aimed to address economic issues and radical feminist who focused on female identity. Arguably the main issue for women was the limited opportunities in the workplace for women. In 1960 there were just 23 million employed women meaning that over sixty percent of women were unemployed. Income was also a big issue as the average income for a man in 1961 was $27000 compared to $15000 for women. In addition women accounted for 79% of unpaid work in America. In terms of female identity, radical feminists such as Ti-Grace Atkinson believed that heterosexual relationships were patriarchal and led to women being submissive. Therefore Atkinson advocated celibacy or lesbianism which received success in that it promoted gay rights campaigns in the late sixties. In 1966 the National Organisation for Women (NOW) was formed and aimed to achieve “truly equal partnership with men.” NOW was the biggest feminist group and primary aim was to focus on employment by lobbying Johnson’s government in the mid-sixties. This resulted in a number of victories such as...
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...Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada (The Bird Commission) and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Both of these commissions tackle matters of early childhood education and care, education, the Indian Act, economic self-reliance, special treatment, the renewal of a relationship, the private sector, and the criminal code. After a more extensive comparison has been achieved between these two reports, I will decide which commission has had the largest impact on our Canadian constitution. Before forming a comparison, it is important that I explain briefly how each of these federal commissions came before us: Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson instituted the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada (RCSW) in February of 1967 (Royal Commission on the Status of Women, vii). It was launched as a direct response to a six-month campaign mounted by a coalition of thirty-two women's organizations and led by Ontario activist Laura Sabia, who, at the time, was president of the Canadian Federation of University Women (Encyclopædia Britannia). Sabia called a meeting of the coalition in Toronto in May of 1966 to discuss concerns surrounding the status of women in Canada. Because of the coalition’s lobbying efforts, mounting pressure in the media, and a threat from Sabia to lead a women’s march on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Pearson established the Commission. The mandate of the RCSW was to investigate and report on the status of women and to make specific...
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...Zac Bublitz Views of the Status of Women Throughout his letters to Heloise, Abelard emphasizes the importance and significance of intention within the body, heart and soul as opposed to physical actions and deeds. To Abelard, a person is defined more correctly by his or her true desire, feelings and intention spiritually in addition to his or her actions, rather than what he or she might say or appear to be. Abelard keeps true to this belief while considering the status of women. On the contrary, Heloise formulates her view of the status of women based more upon their physicality. Heloise’s distresses regarding the status of women, more specifically the status of women in her convent, stem from the physical differences and inferiority women were understood to have. While Abelard does make mention to the physical weakness of women and Heloise does reference the importance of intention, the two view the status of women differently. Although women were universally accepted as being the inferior sex, Abelard believes through spirituality, commitment, and intention that women can certainly rank equally and even higher than men. In the opening lines of his letter responding to Heloise’s concern, Abelard quickly presents his understanding and view of the status of women through the words of Luke’s Gospel in which it reads, “As he came to call and redeem both sexes, he deigned to unite them in the true monkhood of his congregation, so that the authority of this profession is therefore...
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...Ann Liebert, Inc. Changes in Health Status Experienced by Women with Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy-Induced Hypertensive Disorders CATHERINE KIM, M.D., M.P.H..1 PHYLLIS BRAWARSKY, M.P.H.,2 REBECCA A. JACKSON, M.D.,3 ELENA FUENTES-AFFLICK, M.D., M.P.H.,4 and JENNIFER S. HAAS, M.D., M.S.P.H.2 ABSTRACT Objective: To examine changes in health status among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). Methods: We examined perceived health status changes from the prepregnancy, as recalled at 12–20 weeks gestation, to the postpartum period in women with GDM (n 64) vs. unaffected gravidas (n 1233) and women diagnosed with PIH (n 148) vs. unaffected gravidas. We used patient survey and medical record data from a prospective cohort study. Health status measures included the Short Form-36 scales for physical function, vitality, and self-rated health and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Multivariate logistic regression models controlled for age, parity, race, education, prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and exercise levels, food insufficiency, and GDM or PIH during a prior pregnancy. Results: Women with PIH more often reported a significant decline in vitality (odds ratio [OR] 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-2.23) and self-rated health (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.193.77) and an increase in depressive symptoms from prepregnancy to postpartum compared with unaffected women (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.11-3.05). Decline...
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...The status incongruity hypothesis Researchers distinguish between status based on achievement (earning your way to the top) and ascribed status based on personal characteristics (e.g., sex, race, and age; [Berger et al., 1986], [Ridgeway, 2001] and [Ridgeway and Bourg, 2004]). Because of their gender, women are automatically linked to low status (Rudman & Kilianski, 2000) — so much so that when they enter an occupation in large numbers, its prestige can drop significantly ( [Nieva and Gutek, 1981] and [Touhey, 1974]). The status incongruity hypothesis (SIH) proposes that women who possess or pursue power are de facto status incongruent, but particularly when their behavior violates status expectations. Given that agency is high in status, female agency is discrepant with women's low ascribed status, and this status incongruity elicits backlash. By exhibiting masculine competencies, agentic women undermine the presumed differences between the genders, and discredit the system in which men have more access to power and resources for ostensibly legitimate reasons. That is, agentic women should incur penalties because they threaten the gender hierarchy. As a result, women's perceived status violations (as opposed to any type of gender role violation) should account for backlash effects. The dominance penalty According to Study 1, female dominance proscriptions are the gender rules for women that are most strongly aligned with status and thus, reinforce the gender hierarchy...
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