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Changing status of women in contemporary Indian society
Changing status of women in contemporary Indian society
Women empowerment in india literature review
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Home, a place to relax and unwind from the day, is where women in this society have the most stress. They are constantly judged with high expectations from their family.
According to Armit Dhillon, a journalist, the ideal woman is known to be obedient, sacrificing, dutiful, and compliant.
India, being a patriarchal region, allows men to play a major influence on women’s house lives. The husband is notorious for creating a persona for his wife. She does not have the freedom to be herself in her own home.
In the past, women in India were known to fast for the welfare of their spouse, give up rice in order to please the gods to bring food fortune to their husband, never demand anything of their husband, and keep their collection of saris limited.
Women’s role in the household was to please their husband.
Women sacrifice their lives in order to support and bring success to their husband. Women have been selfless and caring in order to insure they are doing the best for their husband’s success.
The Laws of Manu are referred to as the most important scripture to follow faithfully in the Hindu religion. The Laws of Manu declare: “In childhood, a female must be subject to her father, in youth her husband, and when her lord is dead, to her sons; a woman must never be independent.”
This scripture has set a tradition for women in the Indian culture. This exemplifies how women are reputed to always be at the assistance of their closest male kin and how women should always be under the control of a male relative.
Women’s suppression in their homes has created an inequality in society. Women in India are unable to create their own character in the community because their husband controls their behavior and establishes high expectations to be m...
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...der Equality in. Accessed May 14, 2014. http://genderindex.org/country/india#_ftnref10.
"Indian Women's Journey Tale of Resilience, Courage." The Pioneer (India), March 8, 2014.
Lakshmi, Rama. "Indian Supreme Court Recognizes Third Gender." The Washington Post, April 16, 2014, Suburban ed., sec. A.
"Long Road to Women's Freedom." Sunday Tribune (South Africa), July 11, 2010, E1 ed., Tribune Herald sec.
Menon, Nivedita. "Elusive 'Woman': Feminism and Women's Reservation Bill." JSTOR. Accessed May 14, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4409891.
"Statistics." UNICEF. Accessed May 15, 2014. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html.
"Women's Suffrage." Women's Suffrage. Accessed May 23, 2014. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/suffrage.htm.
Xu, Beina. "Governance in India: Women’s Rights." PBS. Accessed May 14, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/india-women/.
Indian society was patriarchal, centered on villages and extended families dominated by males (Connections, Pg. 4). The villages, in which most people lived, were admini...
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
Gaughen, Shasta. Introduction To Women's Rights: Contemporary Issues Companion. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Hennessey, Kathleen.
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's voices, feminist visions: classic and contemporary readings. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Through out history, Americans have fought for the rights of freedom in their country, freedoms that have been passed down through dozen’s of generations. Freedom’s such as religion, speech, press, slavery and the right to vote. Americans, though very aware of their freedoms, often take them for granted and forget the struggles that their ancestors went through to obtain them. One example of this struggle is a woman’s right to be treated and looked upon by the government as equals. This was not an easy battle to win, and it took a strong few to begin to bring the struggle that women had faced for centuries to an end.
Even though women are still the main homemakers, being the nurturer and the one in charge of keeping their family life running smoothly, men have started to take on some of the roles that were once only expected of women, making for a whole new dynamic in the average home. If you had told someone 100 years ago women would have the right to vote, or could be world scholars, serve in the military, or even run for president, they probably would have laughed in your face and told you women are good for one thing, and one thing only, and that is to be a wife and a mother. Women were meant to be seen and not heard. They were to cook, clean, do laundry, be the perfect wife, and tend to all their husband 's needs.
"Women." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
A traditional extended family living in Northern India can become acquainted through the viewing of Dadi’s family. Dadi, meaning grandmother in Hindu, lets us explore her family up close and personal as we follow the trials and tribulations the family encounters through a daily basis. The family deals with the span of three generations and their conflicting interpretations of the ideal family life. Dadi lets us look at the family as a whole, but the film opens our eyes particularly on the women and the problems they face. The film inspects the women’s battle to secure their status in their family through dealing with a patriarchal mentality. The women also are seen attempting to exert their power, and through it all we are familiarized to
Gender roles between men and women remains somewhat the same and never changing to the flow of the society. Women remains tvhe homemaker of the household while men continue to be the breadwinner of the family. With the continuation of stereotyping gender roles, women continues to lose grounds against men in this society. Even though women has secured a place within the society, they still remain responsible for their duties as daughters, wives, and mothers. The role of women and men remain constrain to the scope of the traditional gender roles and continues to be practice by families who continues to value traditional roles. However, the practice of traditional roles are old-fashioned and unfair to women’s individuality and should evolved into
Stefoi, E. (2008) Women’s rights history – from suffrage to diplomatic career: address. Available at: http://ottawa.mae.ro/index.php?lang=en&id=66579 (Accessed: 27 February 2010)
Caregiving and homemaking are the primary roles given to women by society. And as Brigid Schulte stated in her article “Women aren’t the only ones trapped by gender roles”, “As long as women are expected to do the bulk of the caregiving and housework, and work cultures respect and reward people who don’t, women will remain at the disadvantage”. This quote simplicity sums up the effect traditional gender roles on the potentials of women. As long as these societal expectations are set in place, men will be the ones consistently given the rewards because their position in society is seemingly “superior” to women. According to an article from Forbes magazine entitled “The 5 Most Damaging Myths That Keep Women From Advancing and Thriving In Our World Today”, the second most damaging myth is the thought “that gender equality is just a workplace issue”(Caprino). Though this is a major issue surrounding traditional roles, the behavioral and physical expectations of men and women cannot be overlooked. “Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you adopt, your behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role”(McLeod). Women are expected by society to be dependent, passive, emotional, and nurturing and look graceful and petite. Opponents to the aforementioned statements would suggest that
McElroy, W. Liberty for women: Freedom and feminism in the 21st century. New York: Ivan R. Dee, 2002.
Lockwood, Bert B. (ed.), Women's Rights: A "Human Rights Quarterly" Reader. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
After marriage, more of these values are expected to be carried on is the way the family decisions are made and the ways things are done. The male is known as the authority figure in the family. An Indian woman has to abide be what the men say and basically allow him to run the show. This does not say that he has no responsibilities, because that is wrong be all means. He has a responsibility to support the family and show the children how to work the fields and support the family.
The portrayal of women in the Hindu culture that are established within tradition, religion and beliefs are expressed as being contradictory at times. The Hindu scripture portrays women [“as servant and goddess, strumpet and saint, the protected daughter and powerful matriarch, the shunned widow and the worshipped