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Women deserve equal rights
The issue of gender inequality
The issue of gender inequality
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Today, women share the same equal rights and opportunities as men; nevertheless, that has not invariably been the case. Before the Jazz Age era, gender discrimination between men and women in society was considerably popular. Women were seen as inferior to men. Their jobs were to care for the home, children, and other domesticated duties while men were able to work, get an education, and become doctors or lawyers. Many women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Zora Hurston, to mention a few, seen the unfairness in women's rights and fought for equal rights for women through different movements, efforts, protests, and even marches to abolish women’s rights. As a consequence, women now pursue not only higher education and higher paid jobs/ businesses, but their rights. One of the world’s most controversial issues among churches of today is the role of a woman. Many people are confused about the duty of a woman and how she is supposed to serve God because of history. History taught us to never deny someone of gender, race, or even diversity since he or she has human rights. However, this issue should not be viewed as men versus women because this is not a political issue; instead, it should be viewed as the structural of a church. Women should not be priests, pastors, or even rabbis for God condone women for being priests, pastors, and rabbis as well as proscribed. In most religious faiths, like Christianity (excluding Christian denominations), Judaism, and Catholic do not accept women as priests, pastors, and rabbis. In Christianity, there are several of reasons why women cannot be ordained as ministry leaders in the fellowship of God, but minister. At the beginning of time, God created man ... ... middle of paper ... ...f women and responsibilities. Therefore, women should not be leaders in church. Historians, doctors, and other religious leader, may contribute their research, perspectives, beliefs, and thoughts, but that is nothing more than their opinions. The Bible, on the other hand, is the book of life and is the most reliable source of them all. It is the way God is speaking to his people directly. Many other religions like Judaism and Catholic shares the same characteristics mentioned here. The best way to view this issue is to not see it equally a political/economic standpoint but church structural. One thing for sure women cannot be priests, pastors, and rabbis. One can choose to listen and be doer of his word or one can procrastinate all his or her life and deny the truth. No matter how one might consider a woman’s role in the church, there is only one truth and one God.
Prior to the second Great Awakening women didn’t have much of a role. Women participated in church but never was a key figure in the church. Pastors had the connection to a masculine job since being a pastor wasn’t only spiritual but they were looked as political leaders as well. Women weren’t considered ministers but exhorters which created a strong distinction between men, with authority, and women, with less superior role.
Through the 20th century, the communist movement advocated greatly for women's’ rights. Despite this, women still struggled for equality.
To understand the significant changes within the role of women, it’s important to look at the position women held in society prior to World War II. In a famously quoted ruling by the United States Supreme Court in a case denying a woman’s right to practice law, the following excerpt penned by the Honorable Joseph P. Bradley in 1873 sums up how women were perceived during that period of time by their male counterparts. Bradley declared, "The paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother -- this is the law of the Creator" . While many women may agree that the role of wife and mother is a noble one, most would certainly not agree this position would define their destiny.
From the beginning of time woman were looked at as inferior and treacherous. Inferior, because women were thought to have had smaller brains therefore incapable of making decisions. Most decisions were made for her and women found themselves where “the world of public affairs was nowhere open to woman.” (Friedman 9); leaving women’s duties to fall solely under the household. The treachery (8) of course was because of her actions in the Garden of Eden. The decision Eve made in the garden was proof for the male that “Some basic taint of corruption was thought to be inherent in the feminine constitution” (Friedmen 10) therefore women cannot make qualified decisions.
Women have not been treated equally in history. They were not given the same rights and opportunities as men. However, religion was a way the women could get an education and power in their spiritual lives. What was a choice women had to get educated or involved? Church, or convents being an only option for most women, it was the only possibility for them to have an education and control over their minds. I believe that there are a lot of authors that would agree that women turned to the church or religion frequently to escape home lives. In a lot of readings there are parents that give away their children to the churches early on because the parents think it is a better option for their child’s lives. Also if the parents did not have enough
The marianismo gender role beliefs vary depending on where one is located. Marianismo beliefs influence what women see as “appropriate female behavior” (Craske, 1999, p. 12). Stereotypes of women are created which have stuck to what is ‘appropriate’ for what women can and cannot do. It is out of the normalcy for women to not follow these marianismo beliefs. It is obvious that motherhood is found as the ultimate role for women. Though it would make sense that men have fatherhood is not the ultimate role for men (even though both man and woman are needed to create a child) this is not the case at all. Another key marianismo belief Craske (2002) found was that women are “dominant in the private world of domestic organization,” while men are dominant in the public sector (p. 11). This is important to know because women lived very secluded lifestyles. This exclusive lifestyle connects to how Catholic women in Latin America had greater transgressions than men when it came...
At St. Joseph Parish in Windsor, Connecticut, women are seen as equals to men. They are greeted by a handshake and a warm smile, just like their husbands or siblings they attend church with. I got the feeling that they didn’t care that I was a woman attending Sunday mass alone, they just cared that I had come at all. On every wall of the church were beautiful stain glass with pictures of Jesus and his disciples, while behind the altar, a painting of Jesus on the cross was painted so that everyone who walked in would see it. In every visual aspect of the church, a woman was present and was with Jesus. There was even a statue of her towards the front of the church. She had a halo around her head just like Jesus and the other male disciples. It
I have always found the role of women in religion to be a fascinating and diverse subject, varying from community to community. Sometimes, the role of a woman in society is so closely linked to her religious role, that the two are indistinguishable. For example, why is it that some women are expected to upkeep the home and children without question? How are such gender roles assigned? Are these gender roles created by religion and upheld by culture or created by culture and upheld by religion? Where do such social expectations stem from? What does the daily life of a woman in religious groups that hold such expectations look like? And given these questions, is it possible for such roles to evolve? Has social change within gender roles occurred in the context of religion? In order to find the answers to these questions and questions like them, one must seek further insight of religion itself and the social context within which it exists.
... States one of the most popular religions, Catholicism, still does not permit women to serve in the priest capacity. Some issues will take many centuries to change, and just like in Catholicism, this Islamic barrier will take time to break down.
Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13). The church and its teachings instil low self-esteem and low self-worth in women; it creates false identities that are supposed to be God’s plan (Daly 3). One has to wonder why women participate in the church and follow its teachings, and how women can overcome the oppression in the church.
A year later, according to a research project, The Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life, many women have assumed parish responsibilities. “…The following percentages of ministerial activities done by women reveal: alter preparation 85 percent, teaching 80 percent, social caring and justice ministries 85 percent, parish council leadership 52 percent (Wessinger, 246).”. Church practice is - to a large extent - women's practice. Without the unpaid cooperation of women, important pastoral activities would stop. A fair number of women choose to give their time and efforts to the church, rather than take paid employment. Many times these women are over looked.
Women Deserve the Same Rights as Men From the beginning of time, women 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.
Some say that the role of women in Judaism has been misrepresented and misunderstood. Today when people think of women's role in Judaism, they think of them as being of very low importance. Yet, threw the Halakha (Jewish laws) we are able to see how significant the role of women is in Judaism. There are many Jewish feminist leaders in today's society. This is because throughout the years of education and study of Judaism, the women learned that everyone must be respected. Within Judaism the women are considered to be on a separate level. They are on the world for one reason, and the men for another. Yet, within the religion they are considered as equals.
History shows us that women in today’s society are better off than women of the past. There has been great progress towards women’s rights over the years. However, females around the world are still far from being equal with men. In parts of the world, women are denied access to education and do not have a voice when it comes to political participation. Girls and women are prevented from making choices around child rearing, marriage, and other personal choices in their private lives. As a society, it is important that we understand the feminist perspective and raise awareness on women’s rights and gender equality. On the other hand, feminism is also relevant for boys and men. How you ask? Well, it is about changing gender roles, sexual
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.