Changing Of The Status Of Women Around The World Over Time - Essay Example

Changing Of The Status Of Women Around The World Over Time The present paper aims to discuss the status and position of the women in society within global perspective by conducting a comparative investigation into the proposition that whether or not their status has witnessed any significant alterations with the passage of time. In other terms, the current study looks for examining the topic above-mentioned within the historical perspective, and in the light of the work “Voyages in World History” created by Valerie Hansen & Kenneth R. Curtis (2008). Consequently, the paper will elaborate the perspective presented by the authors afore-mentioned by critically evaluating the arguments made and maintained by them in their above-described work since 1500 A.D. onward. Although Hansen & Curtis (419-972) have not confined their concentration by focusing the same on the life or status of women; nor have they attempted to point out towards the efforts made for improving their lot in their work altogether. Instead, they have narrated the political and cultural histories of several nations by defining salient features attributed to the royal courts. Nevertheless, their account provides an indirect and precise outlook of the progress the female stratum has witnessed during the course of time since 1500 onward. In addition to this, the authors have encompassed the entire globe in their work without neglecting any important area or region of the world. The authors have quoted the words delivered from the mouth of Gabriela Oviedo (426), Miss Bolivia 2003, who laments ethno-racial discrimination to be observed against the South Americans and blacks, though her having the opportunity of winning the title of Miss Bolivia remarkably alludes to the rights enjoyed by women even in the backward countries of third world. It remarkably reflects the revolutionary alterations in the traditional and conventional cultural values of the social establishment being observed at global scale, under which the women used to be suppressed by the male dominant social setups. Women were restricted to domestic responsibilities in the Asian and African colonial states during the imperialism surge, and their intermixing with males was strongly a socially disapproved phenomenon, and separate dresses and hairstyle etc prevailed for women (534). It is therefore, the countries were lagging far behind from the European nations because of the negation of women from the nation-building activities altogether. Somehow, the situation has observed significant alterations in modern times, and western attire and styles have made their sure headway in the former colonial states, where like the European citizens, men and women wear the same clothes and active participation of women in business, politics, military services and other social and financial activities have turned out to be the order of the day in contemporary era. Thus, penetration of the western cultural patterns into the oriental societies of Americas, India and Africa has introduced imperative modifications in the individual and collective life of the people at large by discouraging and eliminating the elements of discrimination towards the female folk (Hansen & Curtis 536-7). Similarly, while elucidating the cultural traits that had been in vogue under the Inca Empire of pre-Columbian America during 1438-1533, Hansen & Curtis have portrayed the life of Inca women to be extremely hard and challenging one. The pictorial images of the Inca women demonstrate the females belonging to different age groups busy at work, where their responsibilities were not confined to domestic chores; on the contrary, they also looked performing various tasks in the fields, which manifestly endorse the pathetic condition of the sixteenth century American women under the Inca dynasty (428). Getting suppressed and leading the life of misery was not actually the fate of all the women of the world at large. On the contrary, women were also ruling over few kingdoms and states, and used to issue decrees on different matters of national and international concern. The same is particularly applied to Queen Isabella of Castile, Spain, who was supreme in her kingdom and used to take decisions of her choice without any obstacle of interruption or interference from any corner (Hansen & Curtis 439-40). Hence, the position enjoyed by a woman as the ruler mirrors the powers and freedom of women in Spain during 15th & 16th centuries onward. The same illustration could also be traced in other parts of Europe, where England, France, Austria-Hungary, Russian Empire and others had also been ruled by the female monarchs time and again from 16th century till this day. In addition to this, the mistresses and sweethearts of the male monarchs including La Malinche, the mistress of Spanish Conqueror of Mexico Hernán Cortés (Hansen & Curtis 441-42). Consequently, instead of remaining the victim of male exploitation, women used to play dominant role in political matters and social affairs as well during the medieval era. Nevertheless, it does not mean that all women used to be enjoying the similar privileges attributed to the female monarchs or the consorts of the kings and emperors of various countries. On the other hand, an imperative majority of the American, European and Asian women belonging to the middle and lower strata of society had to work in homes as well as had to render their services in fields shoulder to shoulder with men in order to overcome their financial worries. As a result, deploying of a large proportion of female stratum as working women seeks its roots in the ancient, medieval, classical and Victorian and twentieth century era cultures and civilizations of the world in general; the evidence of which could be found in the relics of history on the one side, and by exploring the works produced by the feminist authors including George Eliot, Henrik Ibsen, Cady Staten, Kate Chopin, Virginia Woolf, Betty Friedan and many others by criticizing the discrimination observed against women at a massive scale. The authors have further thrown light on the relationship between religion and politics by citing examples from the courts of Persian, Russian, Ottoman and Indian empires, all of which had witnessed the direct or indirect influence of women on the affairs of royal court (481-83). Queen Catherine the Great of Russia enjoys distinguished place in the list of influential monarchs, who worked very hard as an enlightened despotic ruler for the political, social, economic and strategic uplift of her masses, and introduced lenient policies, which would turn out to be raising the social position of women within Russian culture (585-6). There was a time when the slavery prevailed within the Ottoman and Russian empires, and the female slaves used to be sold like herds of sheep by stripping all their coverings, and turning the poor young girls and women completely naked before the eyes of the sellers, brokers and buyers in the slave market of Asia and Africa. In addition to this, every type of cruelty and physical and sexual exploitations were viewed to be justified ones against the slave women. Moreover, the slave men and women were not allowed to marry the person of their choice without seeking prior permission from their masters in the USA as well as in the Russian Empire (550). However, slavery witnessed gradual abolishment in America and other parts of the world, which turned out to be highly supportive with regards to improving the status and position of women all over the globe (Hansen & Curtis 540). Hansen & Curtis have narrated the establishment of Coffeehouses in Muslim societies, which were meant just for the male populations, and women were not allowed to enter in them at all. Coffeehouses were not confined to drinking coffee only; rather, the areas were meant for entering into discussions, games and in-door sports for men only. Consequently, women used to enjoy the African coffee drink in the public bath that had been established by the Ottoman rulers of Turkey within their royal jurisdictions. Hence, the women belonging to the oriental and Muslim societies were deprived of the status attributed to the male population of the region (497). The authors have attempted to make a comparison and contrast of various cultures and civilizations in their precise but all-inclusive work while examining the historical accounts of the global civilizations (631-2). On the one side, the authors appear to be making differentiation between the Amerindian civilization, and on the other side, they look discussing the Chinese culture with paying slight consideration to the condition and situation of women and other stratum of society. The authors view Industrial Revolution of 1750 as the turning point in the history of modern world, effects of which would last long for the future centuries to come (662). The industrial revolution in the beginning had multiplied the difficulties faced by the working classes, though the same would create awareness and increase the state of conflicts on the basis of gender and class in society. Somehow, it was the same pace of growth and progress, which paved the way towards creating awareness amongst the women, and urged them to rise to the occasion for launching campaign for obtaining the rights equal to the ones enjoyed by men in society. The movement started by Cady Staten in America from 1848 convention endorses the same by providing a powerful platform to the women for raising their voice against all injustices and inequalities being inflicted upon them by the male dominating societies. In the same way, the authors have also elucidated the Europeans’ imperialism inflicted upon the Asian and African people during 18th century onward, as well as the resistance started by the slave nations against their imperialist masters, where women also made an active participation by assisting the freedom fighters during their campaign for winning freedom from foreign slavery. The authors cite the contributions made by late 19th century Persian pan-Islamist Jamal-ud-Din Afghani (680-81), whose school of thought would not allow the role of women as demonstrators and freedom fighters. Instead, women could only educate and train their sons and brothers to fight against the non-Muslims to eliminate the role of west from the Ottoman Empire and other areas of Muslim influence including Afghanistan and South Asia. Consequently, the work provides a thorough glimpse of the improvement of the status of women in various parts of the globe. The growth and popularity of democracy in the USA and Europe, according to the authors, and its impact on the populations also turned out to be beneficial one with regards to earning a better position for women (728-29). It was the fruit of the development of the political institutions at grass-root scales that the women were granted the right to cast their votes and give their opinion through the ballot box by the first quarter of twentieth century for electing the representatives of their choice. Side by side, the authors also calculate the ethno-racial, regional and class conflicts, which had been effectively in vogue in the developed societies of the world (773-75). It was the same campaign launched by the African Americans during the second half of the previous century, which not only won equal status for the black community, but indirectly supported the women cause in the US society. The elimination of serious conflict between the blacks and whites helped the women belonging to the divergent racial backgrounds to make struggle jointly for bringing improvements in their social conditioning eventually. To conclude, by minutely studying the work created by Hansen & Curtis provides a detailed account of the progress made by women with the passage of time. There was a time when majority of the regions did not allow women to marry the individual of their choice. Besides, their role was confined wither to the four walls of home, or to the fields and factories for helping the males in earning money and food etc. Besides, their opinion did not have any meaning or worth in society. Somehow, spread of education, growth of democracy and insurgence of women organizations gradually improved their position in society. It is because of the same campaign exercised by the females that they have obtained the right to marry the members of their gender even as well as to cohabit with the person of their choice beyond the marital-knot as well, which reflects the betterment of their condition in contemporary era social establishments all over the globe. Work cited Hansen, Valerie and Curtis, Kenneth R. Voyages in World History. Vol. 2, Since 1500 Brief edition New York: Cengage Learning 2008. Print. Read More