Do you believe in equal rights for women? During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the rights of women were restricted when compared to the rights of men. Many of these rights were based upon the social and marital status of the woman, but regardless of her status, she had less rights than her husband. As I will argue in this paper, men controlled women and limited their rights with regard to guardianship, serving as a witness, and owning property. Women were viewed as inferior to men and often considered unable to make intellectual decisions. As Professor Byars stated in class, women at this time had illegitimate power rather than legitimate power. Anything they received, they received from someone or something else. Women only obtained wealth or power in a manner deemed appropriate by men. Women faced restrictions and lack of personal control their entire life and were under the authority of men. Men didn’t believe women could manage their personal affairs. Once a woman’s husband passed away, she was considered unable to manage her own life and was assigned a guardian to oversee her various affairs by a council or court system. This acting guardian was also assigned to her children and would oversee the affairs of the children until they turned legal age. Since the woman lost control of her children, it was the guardian who made decisions based upon what he thought was best for her children. The father of her deceased husband often had more to say about the children’s future than the mother. The only time the mother had full control of her children were if the children were illegitimate (Weisner 231). Guardianship was also another way for cities to control the inheritance of the widow. As Merry Weisner stated in her essa... ... middle of paper ... ...erty was left to male heirs. Man was considered the head of the household and the master of women. It was the belief that by strengthening the power of the husband, you strengthen the power of the family (Scchneider 235). It is clear equal rights for men and women did not appear until well after the sixteenth and seventh centuries in early modern Europe. Women were under the control of men. Works Cited Schneider, Zoe. “Women Before the Bench: Female Litigants in Early Modern Normandy.” Early Modern Europe: Issues and Interpretations. Eds. James B. Collins and Karen L. Taylor. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2006. 241-257. Weisner, Merry. “Political, Economic, and Legal Structures.” Early Modern Europe: Issues and Interpretations. Eds. James B. Collins and Karen L. Taylor. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 2006. 222-240.
Since the beginning of the 17th-century and earlier, there has always been different perspectives on women 's rights. Men and women all over the world have voiced their opinion and position in regard to the rights of women. This holds especially true in the United States during the 18th and 19th century. As women campaigned for equality, there were some who opposed this idea. There was, and always will be a series of arguments on behalf of women 's rights. Anti-women 's rights activists such as Dr. John Todd and Pro-women 's rights activist Gail Hamilton argued intelligently and tactfully on the topic. There were many key arguments made against women’s rights by Dr. John Todd, and Gail Hamilton 's rebuttal was graceful and on par with her male counterpart. Let 's examine some of Dr. John 's arguments against women 's equality.
The role of women in learning and education underwent a gradual change in the Afro-Eurasian world and the Americas between the 11th and 15th centuries. As societies in Africa, Middle East, India, China, Europe, and America grew more complex they created new rights and new restrictions for women. In all regions of the world but the Middle East, society allowed women to maintain education in order to support themselves and their occupations. Women slaves in the Middle East were, however, prized on their intelligence. In Africa, women were trained in culinary arts. In India, women learned how to read and write with the exception of the sacred verses of the Vedas.
Were the Witch-Hunts in Pre-modern Europe Misogynistic? The “YES” article by, Anne Llewellyn Barstow, “On Studying Witchcraft as Woman’s History” and the “NO” article by, Robin Briggs, “Women as Victims? Witches, Judges and the Community,” will be compared, and summarized.
...c. 4). This is an example of one of the seven unequal relationships in Confucianism. Much of the social structure of classical China was based on Confucian ideals (Doc. 3). In Greece the relationship between a husband and wife also very unequal due to her young age and lack of education. Alone a woman had no political rights and limited legal powers therefore is was necessary for a husband to provide for his wife much like a father would (Doc. 6) A woman would learn house hold management and eventually produce heirs. These two similar systems of social roles was not a benevolent system. It did not take into account the welfare of individuals, particularly woman who had little power to leave in a bad marital situation. However by insuring that people know their place, which kept them in line, classical societies were more prosperous and able to run more smoothly.
What if women never established rights? The world would not be the place it is today if that was the case. Women are able to do just as much as men are and even more. What if men were treated the same way as women were one thousand years ago? They would have felt just as the women did, hurt because the treatment between men and women was unfair. The fact that men and women were not treated equally was wrong in many ways, but that was the way of life during those times. In the British culture, from the Anglo-Saxon to the Renaissance time period, the men were respected on a higher level than women, and women were to always be subservient to men, which were demonstrated throughout many works of literature.
...o American colonies. Some colonies or loyalists remained faithful and became dependent on the British government. In the same way through the status of feme-covert, husbands had absorbed their wives’ legal identity. “She could exercise no choice in her political allegiance independently of her husband” (p.154). But few decades after the American Independence, “many states liberalized their divorce laws, making it easier for women to divorce husbands who abused or deserted them” (p.154). Married women were allowed to own and sell their properties independently. Due to economic crisis, husbands transferred their estate to their wives to shield them from creditors. Women had control over a family’s estate. “Despite the “new code of laws” drafted by her husband and peers, the principles and practices behind the feme-covert remained embedded in the legal system” (p.154).
Over long periods of time change is often inevitable. One such instance of change throughout history is that of family members and their role in not only the family, but also in society as a whole. Although changes can be seen in the roles of every family member, it can be argued that the role of women in the family, especially that of mothers, changed the most. Between the sixteenth century and the twentieth century, the role that mothers played in the family and in society changed greatly.
Women in this era had just begun to secure some freedom from their typical cultural expectations. They were expected to take care of the children, cook, clean, sew and be presentable to society. As jobs were made available to women, only a low percentage of these women started to work outside of the home. This means that many women had chosen to stay inside the home to remain in the role of “house keeper”. Even though the woman attained some freedom they were still considered inferior to men. Men still had the most authority in the household and
However, Europeans women were very segregated and under man control during the colonial times; but little by little women fight for their rights and become free of man domination. Today the status of women’s civil rights varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes. In recent decades women around the world have made strides in political participation, as for example women acquired the right to vote, the right to become part of political issues, the right to marriage who they want, and the right to be free as an individual.
How society views family roles, women, and sex, speaks to the idea of the time. Late Medieval Europe viewed these topics through the lens of the Catholic Church. These views began to a transition toward the lens of the law through events like the Reformation and voyages to the New World. Advances in science changed these ideas for it opened gateways of intellectual discourse. The French Revolution demonstrates the changes to understanding of family roles, women, and sex had changed; from a marriage which was wholesome where sex was sacred and a woman was to rear children to a marriage which was broken where sex was open to public scrutiny.
Before her marriage, a woman was allowed to own properties, run businesses, enter contracts, file lawsuits, be charged with crimes and keep her own earnings. However, once married, all of her prior rights became invalid as her legal identity merged with her husband’s. The husband would have control over all properties she had owned before and any she would gain afterwards. The only way for women to keep their property ownership intact was to stay single. However, to maintain such status was nearly impossible. In the early 19th century, almost all jobs and professions excluded women-employment. This left women who wished to stay single with only their personal and familiar weal...
As far back as the Paleolithic era, women had different rights then men. Some of the injustices women faced include, not having a right to vote, a voice in law, and women could not enter most occupations. Women were not even allowed to get a college education. Once a women was married she had no rights, or in the case that the women got divorced she had no legally could not have custody of her children. Many religious believed God created women to be inferior. It was considered a natural law that men were above women. When women started the fight for more rights, it started out as a political and legal fight and eventually turned into a social and economic fight as well. Many women who started the fight, died before they could see there work pay off, including Susan Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone. In the U.S, Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren fought for the addition of women’s emancipation in the constitution. During the late 18th century, in the United States men had many rights while women had very few. Women also could not keep their own wages. One right woman maintained was the right to own property if their husband died.
In the late 16th century England experienced poverty, starvation, increase in population, inequality amongst women and men, and lack of opportunity in the work force. During this time England was torn between two religions, Catholicism and Protestantism. England’s economy was primarily agricultural, workers were tied to their land. Due to the social inequality of the 16th century, women were limited to their rights and men were superior. Women worked in the clothing industry and men worked primarily on the farm. Due to the economic hardships in England, men and women migrated to London for a better life. The nation was under the rule of Queen Elizabeth, who surpassed the restrictions placed on women. This paper explores the shortcomings and hardships experienced in Elizabethan England.
From the beginning of time, females have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won. Since women have fought for a long time and proven their importance in society, they deserve the same rights as men.
Firstly, The Elizabethan life for men was one of power. Men were expected to have all the say and they were de facto the head of the family and expected to be obeyed as women were believed to be inferior to men. Next, as the head of the family, -men had to guide the female members of the family and in case of wealthier people, arranged fruitful marriages for their sons and daughters. In spite of their superior position, they were expected to be lovable to their wives. “In fact, they were encouraged by the bible to love their wives and treat them lovingly”. As a gender role, men in Elizabethan period acted as an authoritative person being the head of the family