Women's Role In America
Women of India
Women and men have always had opposing differences since the beginning of time. In this paper I am going to discuss the role of the women of India verses the role of women in America and I am going to tell you why I think the women of India are treated disgracefully. Female feticide, dowry deaths and domestic abuse offer a gruesome background of basic cruelty in India. In a typical society in India a person will find that there are still beliefs and traditions about women that are not relevant to the American woman, but instead are an inheritance from their brutal past. This is the case in traditional women, women of rural societies, and women of urban societies (Vidyut , 2007). Women of American societies have been empowered and freed from many decades before modern time when women had less power than men. Now, women and men are gaining the same amount of power, while in the past men were the only holders of power. Women still face different obstacles that men do not but the female role in American society has a future (Evalee, 2009). Aside from the more noticeable changes that have widely affected the role of women in American society, there has …show more content…
been a subtle change of the role women play in the household, especially in the last sixty years. Overtime women have gone from being just a housewife, with the sole responsibility of darning the stockings, fetching the groceries, scrubbing the toilets, cooking the meals and minding the children as the primary homemakers and caretakers while men earn the money.
Now, in America, women and men are both breadwinners. There was a time in history when women were unable to voice their opinion in politics by not having the privilege to cast a vote or to run for office, and now in our modern time there was more than one woman running in the presidential campaign (Evalee, 2009). The stereotype surrounding the role placement on women is slowly dissolving and both men and women are sharing the responsibilities that come with tending to the house and family.
My husband and I have reached far beyond the stereotype of the American family in the 1950’s compared to today. I am a full-time student, mother, and wife, and though I do not currently work, my main role is outside of the home earning my education so my husband and I can be an equal provider to our household income once I graduate. On Monday and Thursday evenings I am responsible for any chores, errands, or cooking, while all the other days of the week my husband and I either split the responsibility or he does everything for me and our children collectively. My husband even drives my daughter to dance class and sits for two hours in the audience until she is finished. We are a team and our perspective on how we live and what is priority to us is what drives us to be financially successful like the rest of our fellow Americans.
Now that I have told you about America and the role of our women, I will give you insight to Indian culture and the slow and dreadful progress of women’s roles in their society and women’s rights by discussing past and present norms, beliefs, religions, attitudes, and research studies that support my argument. “If a young girl was treated exactly the same as her young brother from infancy to young adulthood there’s a chance that the drastic gender differences would be non-existent” (Evalee, 2009). This is known as gender socialization, which is argued to be the cause for many of societies generalizations about the roles of males and females. It wouldn’t matter if young girls played with dolls at a young age or if boys played war hero, girls still have maternal instinct and boys have a more aggressive mentality. Generally, due to physiological differences, women are more emotionally driven while men are usually goal oriented, so even in the absence of gender socialization, women and men are going to have differences in their approach to societal roles even if they are treated equally.
According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) (2011) the traditional norms about the role of men and women in society have not adapted to keep pace with India’s rapid economic growth and rise in opportunities for women. A research study was done on Indian men to reflect on their “complex and at times contradictory nature” of their attitudes about gender equality (Gaynair, 2011). The behaviors of these men represent the differences that outline India’s rapidly changing society, “which is finally becoming a major player in the global economy, while also remaining home to high rates of poverty, child marriage and HIV” (Gaynair, 2011).
The research study done by the ICRW found that many Indian men support policies that promote equal opportunities for women, but they also feel that they will attain some losses if women are given more rights. The Indian men of the study were aware of laws against violence against women, but it did not correspond with their value-beliefs. “Sixty-five percent of Indian men surveyed said they believe there are times that women deserve to be beaten” (Gaynair, 2011). This does not surprise, because Indian culture is not ignorant to the values and beliefs of other cultural norms and societies, if they were, such treatment of their women would not be outlawed to being with now would it?
The research study was three-years in length, named the “IMAGES” study. ICRW researchers interviewed a sample of the Indian men and women population of ages eighteen through fifty-nine. Variables of the study included asking participants about their intimate relationships, health practices, parenting, sexual behavior, and their use of violence.
The survey was carried out among one thousand thirty-seven men and three hundred thirteen women in New Delhi, and four hundred ninety-seven men and two hundred eight women in Vijayawada, in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. The sites were chosen because of their geographic diversity and because they already had efforts underway to involve men in work that promotes gender equality (Gaynair, 2011). The same study also reported that men of India were aware that sex for sale (prostitution) was illegal, however 25 percent of the men reported having sex with a prostitute and more than half these men reported they believed the prostitute was forced into having sex. This is way more than any statistic on prostitution in the United States. Another study that supports my argument is the study by Corbett & Callister, (2012). According to this article “The fertility rate is 2.65 children born per woman of childbearing age. Seventy-five percent of pregnant women make at least one prenatal care visit. Nearly sixty percent of Indian women have mild to moderate anemia related to malnutrition”. The purpose of this study was to describe the views of childbearing women living in Tamil Nadu, India.
After giving childbirth the women and their newborns are kept in isolation by being forced to stay with their mothers for extended periods of time, often it is for several months before they are allowed to return home to their families. This is because giving birth is considered to have impure and polluting effects on the woman’s body in India (Corbett & Callister, 2012). It is extremely important to bear children in Indian culture, so important in-fact that “the women said it was important to become pregnant within a year of being married, or the others in the village would begin to talk negatively about them and their perceived infertility or unwillingness to bear a child” (Corbett & Callister, 2012).
References
Gaynair, G.
(2011, January 11). Gender equality: Indian men 's attitudes complex. Retrieved from http://www.icrw.org/media/news/gender-equality-indian-mens-attitudes-complex
Evalee, L. (2009, November 12). Women in toda 'ys society. Retrieved from http://leanneevalee.hubpages.com/hub/Women-In-Todays-Society
Vidyut (2007, March 16). The role of women in indian society source: http://aamjanata.com/the-role-of-women-in-indian-society/. Retrieved from http://aamjanata.com/the-role-of-women-in-indian-society/
Corbett, C., & Callister, L. (2012). Giving birth: The voices of women in tamil nadu, india . MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 37(5), 298-305. doi:
10.1097/NMC.0b013e318252ba4d
Women and men have always had opposing differences since the beginning of time. In this paper I am going to discuss the role of the women of India verses the role of women in America and I am going to tell you why I think the women of India are treated disgracefully. Female feticide, dowry deaths and domestic abuse offer a gruesome background of basic cruelty in India. In a typical society in India a person will find that there are still beliefs and traditions about women that are not relevant to the American woman, but instead are an inheritance from their brutal past. This is the case in traditional women, women of rural societies, and women of urban societies (Vidyut , 2007). Women of American societies have been empowered and freed from many decades before modern time when women had less power than men. Now, women and men are gaining the same amount of power, while in the past men were the only holders of power. Women still face different obstacles that men do not but the female role in American society has a future (Evalee, 2009). Aside from the more noticeable changes that have widely affected the role of women in American society, there has …show more content…
been a subtle change of the role women play in the household, especially in the last sixty years. Overtime women have gone from being just a housewife, with the sole responsibility of darning the stockings, fetching the groceries, scrubbing the toilets, cooking the meals and minding the children as the primary homemakers and caretakers while men earn the money.
Now, in America, women and men are both breadwinners. There was a time in history when women were unable to voice their opinion in politics by not having the privilege to cast a vote or to run for office, and now in our modern time there was more than one woman running in the presidential campaign (Evalee, 2009). The stereotype surrounding the role placement on women is slowly dissolving and both men and women are sharing the responsibilities that come with tending to the house and family.
My husband and I have reached far beyond the stereotype of the American family in the 1950’s compared to today. I am a full-time student, mother, and wife, and though I do not currently work, my main role is outside of the home earning my education so my husband and I can be an equal provider to our household income once I graduate. On Monday and Thursday evenings I am responsible for any chores, errands, or cooking, while all the other days of the week my husband and I either split the responsibility or he does everything for me and our children collectively. My husband even drives my daughter to dance class and sits for two hours in the audience until she is finished. We are a team and our perspective on how we live and what is priority to us is what drives us to be financially successful like the rest of our fellow Americans.
Now that I have told you about America and the role of our women, I will give you insight to Indian culture and the slow and dreadful progress of women’s roles in their society and women’s rights by discussing past and present norms, beliefs, religions, attitudes, and research studies that support my argument. “If a young girl was treated exactly the same as her young brother from infancy to young adulthood there’s a chance that the drastic gender differences would be non-existent” (Evalee, 2009). This is known as gender socialization, which is argued to be the cause for many of societies generalizations about the roles of males and females. It wouldn’t matter if young girls played with dolls at a young age or if boys played war hero, girls still have maternal instinct and boys have a more aggressive mentality. Generally, due to physiological differences, women are more emotionally driven while men are usually goal oriented, so even in the absence of gender socialization, women and men are going to have differences in their approach to societal roles even if they are treated equally.
According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) (2011) the traditional norms about the role of men and women in society have not adapted to keep pace with India’s rapid economic growth and rise in opportunities for women. A research study was done on Indian men to reflect on their “complex and at times contradictory nature” of their attitudes about gender equality (Gaynair, 2011). The behaviors of these men represent the differences that outline India’s rapidly changing society, “which is finally becoming a major player in the global economy, while also remaining home to high rates of poverty, child marriage and HIV” (Gaynair, 2011).
The research study done by the ICRW found that many Indian men support policies that promote equal opportunities for women, but they also feel that they will attain some losses if women are given more rights. The Indian men of the study were aware of laws against violence against women, but it did not correspond with their value-beliefs. “Sixty-five percent of Indian men surveyed said they believe there are times that women deserve to be beaten” (Gaynair, 2011). This does not surprise, because Indian culture is not ignorant to the values and beliefs of other cultural norms and societies, if they were, such treatment of their women would not be outlawed to being with now would it?
The research study was three-years in length, named the “IMAGES” study. ICRW researchers interviewed a sample of the Indian men and women population of ages eighteen through fifty-nine. Variables of the study included asking participants about their intimate relationships, health practices, parenting, sexual behavior, and their use of violence.
The survey was carried out among one thousand thirty-seven men and three hundred thirteen women in New Delhi, and four hundred ninety-seven men and two hundred eight women in Vijayawada, in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. The sites were chosen because of their geographic diversity and because they already had efforts underway to involve men in work that promotes gender equality (Gaynair, 2011). The same study also reported that men of India were aware that sex for sale (prostitution) was illegal, however 25 percent of the men reported having sex with a prostitute and more than half these men reported they believed the prostitute was forced into having sex. This is way more than any statistic on prostitution in the United States. Another study that supports my argument is the study by Corbett & Callister, (2012). According to this article “The fertility rate is 2.65 children born per woman of childbearing age. Seventy-five percent of pregnant women make at least one prenatal care visit. Nearly sixty percent of Indian women have mild to moderate anemia related to malnutrition”. The purpose of this study was to describe the views of childbearing women living in Tamil Nadu, India.
After giving childbirth the women and their newborns are kept in isolation by being forced to stay with their mothers for extended periods of time, often it is for several months before they are allowed to return home to their families. This is because giving birth is considered to have impure and polluting effects on the woman’s body in India (Corbett & Callister, 2012). It is extremely important to bear children in Indian culture, so important in-fact that “the women said it was important to become pregnant within a year of being married, or the others in the village would begin to talk negatively about them and their perceived infertility or unwillingness to bear a child” (Corbett & Callister, 2012).
References
Gaynair, G.
(2011, January 11). Gender equality: Indian men 's attitudes complex. Retrieved from http://www.icrw.org/media/news/gender-equality-indian-mens-attitudes-complex
Evalee, L. (2009, November 12). Women in toda 'ys society. Retrieved from http://leanneevalee.hubpages.com/hub/Women-In-Todays-Society
Vidyut (2007, March 16). The role of women in indian society source: http://aamjanata.com/the-role-of-women-in-indian-society/. Retrieved from http://aamjanata.com/the-role-of-women-in-indian-society/
Corbett, C., & Callister, L. (2012). Giving birth: The voices of women in tamil nadu, india . MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 37(5), 298-305. doi:
10.1097/NMC.0b013e318252ba4d