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The ideal image of a Pakistani woman is a housewife. Women become completely dependent on their spouse and spend the rest of their lives cooking, cleaning, and raising children. In America, women are more independent and have greater opportunities to display their capability. Being a Pakistani-American woman, I have the ability to decide what life I would prefer: the life of a housewife or a working woman. As a child, I was oblivious to why being independent was so important. I had never been exposed to a Pakistani woman who had a stable income and could support herself. I assumed I would eventually be an ordinary housewife like every other Pakistani woman I had seen. When I started high school, my parents encouraged me to study
diligently so I would have the ability to support myself as an adult. I listened and kept my grades up, but was not too concerned with how it would affect my future. I never knew what I was working so persistently for. Around the middle of my sophomore year, I began contemplating who I desired to be after high school, an ordinary housewife or a successful individual. I asked myself, is all of this effort I am putting into school worth it? One night, I finally got an answer. During the summer before junior year, my parents got into an argument. It was not just a little quarrel over bills; it was intense. My mother decided to leave the house for a few days. She packed her bags and bought a bus ticket to New York. I was devastated. As my mother went outside to wait for a cab, my father followed her to talk her out of it. They spent a while talking things out and, eventually, he brought her back home. I felt relieved, yet a bit heartbroken at the same time. My mother married young and did not have the same opportunities as I do. She had the potential to accomplish whatever she put her mind to, but her circumstances held her back. That night, I realized how little control my mother has of her own life. She never got the opportunity to attain an education, find a well-paying job, or live without having to rely on anyone. Why did I ever consider suffering the same fate? This incident transformed me from a confused, aimless girl into a determined and purposeful woman. I aspire to be an independent individual that has full authority over herself. I will work to my full potential and live the life I deserve. I decided to take advantage of the opportunities I have and make my parents proud.
In the article titled “Pashtana’s Lesson” by Beth Murphy, she records the story of a 15 year-old Afghani girl who has a fiery passion for acquiring knowledge and pursuing education, but old traditions oppress her devotion to study. Pashtana is in the 7th grade at an all girls school which has been rejected by the elders in their community, asked to be torn down, or turned into an all boys school. Her mother strongly enforces studies on her children because she never went to school herself and she doesn’t want her children to end up blind to things in the world like her. In order to support her mother and three younger siblings financially, Pashtana is being forced by her uncle and father to marry her first cousin which is not uncommon, the
Back then, it was unacceptable for a woman to take care of a man. However, that belief no longer exists because education is now deemed important. Having a woman help in the house can help meet the bills. Moreover, when kibar families started sending their daughters to school, the community no longer considered educating women a disgrace. The kibar are families whose wealth has been passed on for generations, who live together in a large complex, and share a budget (Meneley 1996: 64-65). In other words, kibar’s financial status can be the equivalent of rich people in the United States. As a result, of the community moving forward, as well as, their views towards kibar families, Zabidi women’ roles have transformed from a passive to an active role inside and outside the household.
...enging Myths of Muslim Women: The Influence of Islam On Arab-American Women's Labor Force Activity. Muslim World, 92(1/2), 19. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
The idea that a woman’s job is to be a wife and mother is old-fashioned, but not completely out of style. Though these roles require a great deal of talent, resilience, patience, love, and strength, to name a few, they are often underestimated or depicted as simple. Especially in modern times, many women in the United States who stay home to raise a family are viewed as anti-feminists, whereas women in Latin America are not criticized for similar actions. In recent decades, more Latin American women have started to break the mold, daring to be both sexy, and successful in the workforce, while remaining pillars of domestic life.
“Women’s empowerment results from a process where women can freely analyze, develop, and voice their needs and interests without them being predefined or unwillingly imposed by religion, government, or social norms and where their influence and control extends women’s familial/kinship circles” (Haghighat, par.6). There is an ongoing fight for women’s rights everywhere around the world. Men have been getting more power than women such as economic and political power and their rights are not limited as women rights are. There are not any limits with men whereas women are limited to many things. “When voting rights were given to women in the late 1800’s to 1920 it was a decisive moment in the women’s right movement in western Europe and North American democracies” (“Women’s rights”).”Women’s rights groups in the second half of the twentieth century focused on greater legal equality in terms of wages and credit, reproductive rights, family law, and education” (“Women’s rights”). Women’s rights are limited to them and it’s time to give women more rights to have equality because women should have equality in every aspect of their lives. They are unable to have self empowerment due to the rights not given to them. Empowerment is increasing spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength of individuals or communities. It is about achieving your goals to the best of your ability with your potential.
During The Great Depression and World War II, large numbers of Mexican women and men joined the workforce, unions, and other organizations (Page 212). The workplace allowed Mexican women to socialize with one another and they finally for the first time experience what it is like to be independent without relying on any man. “By 1930, some 25 percent of Mexican (and Mexican American) women were in some kind of industrial employment” (Acuna 215). However, Mexican Americans were paid less than a white American, especially Mexican women. In order to for Mexican and Mexican Americans to fight for their rights to be paid and be treated like a white American, Mexican women formed labor unions that would you united them and protest against the owners
Achieving the American Dream is harder for women. The American Dream is becoming harder to achieve for men and women. Companies want men because they do not need maternity leave and there are less complications. Usually, when most people think of the American Dream they think of a house with a white picket fence, two kids, a husband and wife and the husband has a career and the wife stays home. Now more women want to achieve the American Dream, but they want to have the career. It is harder for some of them because of pay, harassment and inequality.
The second external factor is the women’s family and children. Many young women highly respect the role of family background. The women whose parents are educated fully or backed to education after a long time staying at home have more courage to overcome stereotypes. Meanwhile, focusing on their desire and achievement outside housework may bring their children a good example to see how they work
Why and how did the lives and status of northern middle class women change between 1776 and 1876?
In her essay, “Housewives and Homework: The Lacemakers of Narsapur,” Chandra Talpade Mohanty focused on how men sold products that women produced and profited from women’s work. The essay basically pointed out how work can be defined according to sexual identity. It made me wonder if American women are still perceived by men in society as being housewives even though some of us are doctors, lawyers, teachers etc. Is the work that women do seen as what Mohanty pointed out in her essay as “leisure time activities”? I think that to some extent men believe that women’s sole purpose on Earth is to be their wives/partners and to be good mothers to their children. Even though we “leisurely,” as Mohanty so plainly categorized our work according to men in India, go out to our different careers or occupations everyday, we are not truly seen as providers or given credit for being part providers for the family. Some men may feel that we put forth more of an effort in being a woman who cleans the house, cooks, and takes care of the children. Maybe our “le...
Women in Latin America were expected to adhere to extreme cultural and social traditions and there were few women who managed to escape the burden of upholding these ridiculous duties, as clearly shown in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”. First, Latin American women were expected to uphold their honor, as well as their family's honor, through maintaining virtue and purity; secondly, women were expected to be submissive to their parents and especially their husbands; and lastly, women were expected to remain excellent homemakers.
South Asian women engage in patriarchal values and normative structure established more than two thousands years ago, continue to be oppressed by a dominant group of men. These women suffer further oppression through the strict adherence to cultural garb. Still today, media and educational system portray South Asian women as self-sacrificing, faithful to the family, and submissive to men.
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
In our study of women across cultures, and women empowerment it is imperative to include not just heterosexual women but lesbian and bisexual women as well, due to the fact that it integrates a sense of multiculturalism that inputs and values multiple perspectives of women experiences. In the fight for women’s equality heterosexual feminists have often overlooked lesbian and bisexual women, because of the negative connotations that have emerged, that deem all feminists lesbians, and haters of men. This is also frequent due to the fact that homophobia and heterosexism are often used to combat feminism, causing heterosexual women to resent the association of lesbians with feminists. In the specific context of the United States, lesbian feminism has created a foundation for women who like other women, to take a powerful stand and contend against patriarchal traditions. From the workplace, to marketplace, lesbians and bisexual women face daily discrimination and unacceptance, due to the incomprehensibility of people to understand and tolerate their specific way of life. In the paper I plan to discuss, the origins of lesbian movements in the United States. Secondly, talk about the oppositions towards lesbians and feminists to live non-heterosexual lives, due to factors such as compulsory heterosexuality, and heteropatriarchy. Third, I will entail the consequences of society’s perversion towards lesbian and bisexual women, forcing them to hide, known a lesbian and bisexual invisibility. Lastly I will touch upon the responses lesbians in America have disclosed as a means to normalize lesbianism and reduce its negative stereotypes, as well as mention grass root organizations that have been created to fight against the inequality present i...
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.