A Journey to Women’s Intellect

A Brief Account of Past, Present and Future

“There comes a time in the life of almost every woman when she has to choose between a
species of slavery and freedom, and when, if she ever expects to enjoy any future liberty,
she must hoist the red flag of revolt and make a fight for her rights”

Years ago, many people believed a woman’s place was in the home. Women were
excluded from voting booths, most colleges and universities, and all but a few
professions. Now women can be found in the halls of Parliament, science labs, athletic
fields, even outer space. But they didn’t arrive there overnight. Experience the incredible
changes of the century, as we look back at the personalities, achievements, and voices
that defined each decade. You’ll meet some of the extraordinary women who redefined a
woman’s place in our nation. Then explore a visual timeline of the century, highlighting
important events in the march to equality, female celebrities of the day, and the changing
roles of everyday women. Finally, test your wits as you match famous words of wisdom
with the women who spoke them.

Today many milestones women have achieved but still she is been followed by many
hardships, some of them are behaviorist but many are of them are broader and deep
rooted, such as cultural, social, economical and political menaces.

Choosing the comprehension of such complex yet rigorously debated and discussed topic
as a university assignment submission isn’t a child’s play. For having full delivery of
perspective much deserving and critical approaches of time span would be needed with
utmost objective and broader mind set.

This essay has been written with blends of the time frame, the past, present and the
future. Though concisely all three aspects will be covered but my entire emphasis will
remain on the later one, the objective, future of the woman and the status of the world
associated along with.

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 “The window to foresee the future is history"

Women’s stature in different span of time especially with construction to future

could never be foreseen with out glimpses of past and relevant studies realistic to
currency. The past portray vivid awful picture. I have discussed some many restrictive
but yet descriptive aspects from the past of women which will provide solid foundation to
build a critical but pragmatic futuristic account.

The Missing Piece of Jigsaw, the Identity…

From the turn of the many centuries, societies have been governed by its unwritten social
codes, which were highly respected and expected to be followed by every member of
society. These unwritten rules greatly contributed to preserving the romantic image of
Marriage and motherhood, an ideological device functioning to entrap women into
accepting an unfulfilling and limited role in society.

Woman is always been depicted as the “mother-women”

Gives birth too many valuable offspring. One who always gives herself up completely,
without hesitation, both spiritually and physically to her family, such a character, a
woman who is aware of and accepts her role as a sacred mother/wife figure imposed on
her by society.

“They were women who idolize their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed
it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as Ministering
angels. Many of them were delicious in their role”

She can only see herself within the frames of the traditional mother role, or a devoted
daughter or a woman who is the sister to a brother. Even behaviorists and anesthetists by
using romantic and fairy tale imagery, Giving her a romantic aura that instantly separates
her from being an ordinary women who is a natural human being more than any other
role of her.

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She is confined to many other roles, suppressing her emotions lead her own soul torn
apart with in herself quarrelling with each other. The misunderstanding between the two
souls is an example of the conflict between individuality and culturally based
perceptions. Through women’s roles as mothers or wives they become “symbolic
bearers” of the collectivity’s “identity and honor” and are often required carrying this
“burden” of representation.

Since she could never give up herself-the true essence of her, a woman would give her
life for her children; but couldn’t give herself it more. It’s only something which I
understood to comprehend as a severe identity crisis, which is in fact the total absentia of
her one true identity that is humane ship.

Failure of Feminism…

Times to time many theories and movements have risen to high grounds claiming to be
advocate of the women’s rights but often proven failed; contrary to being productive they
backlash severely. The essence of feminist theory, in broad terms, is to problematize the
relation between women and men and to denounce any deterministic understanding of
women as the inferior sex in society. By using feminist theory, the main goal is to
pinpoint the reasons for women’s inferiority and seek to find ways in which one can
empower women in order for them to reach equal status as for men The constructivist
nature of feminist theory, or rather gender theory, lies in the belief that it is not women
and men we study, but rather how the identities of women and men are created and
reinforced as “unequal dichotomies” in issues and processes where questions of power
and recourses become central.

Feminist theorists claim that traditional theories and epistemologies have often failed in
giving any clear account of women’s roles in society, and they have disregarded any
notion of how men’s activities are carried out within a patriarchal society Therefore, the
feminist theorist wishes to bring not only women’s experiences to light but to uncover
and illuminate issues and understandings that are more “hidden” in the debate, since these
are as important as what indirectly observable in achieving a thorough understanding of
society and the power relations that exist within it

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Certain themes and structures become noticeable when applying a feminist or gender
perspective to societal phenomena. The essence of these themes is the acknowledgement
of certain characteristics ascribed to women and men that come to mark subtle or obvious
differences between them. When these different traits are constantly reinforced, they
become norms that make up roles that women and men are expected to take on, these
roles are “not independent categories but are defined in oppositional relation to each
other: more of one is less of the other” making the feminine identity dependent on what
the male is not.

The Prejudices & Oppressions…

In order to understand the historical oppression of women, we have to understand not

only the physical dimension such as extortion and man handling but also the shameful
practices such especially concerned with these constructions of identity and have
questioned the roles affixed to the male and female identity. They have also sought to
show how these roles interplay with the total organization of society; the dichotomies
apparent in identity-construction can also be found in the division of societal realms,
where men’s “natural” or “determined” role is found within the public sphere, and that
for women is found within the private sphere

The subject area of reproduction rights and responsibilities has historically not been given
high priority within the political realm which can thus be explained through the idea that
“women’s issues” are private issues and thus do not belong in the official political public
sphere.

The first theme explored relates to the notion of women’s identity within the national
context, where the focus is on how women’s identities come to serve particular interests
in relation to the interest of the nation. Women’s roles within the private sphere are then
seen to be constantly reinforced as they legitimize their position in the national collective.

The second theme deals with the dichotomy of Law versus Victimization. Here, the focus
should be on how this dichotomy is fitted within the construction of women’s and men’s
identities; where women often need to be constructed as the “victim” in order for her
actions or rather non actions to become comprehensible. The third theme questions the
context of choice that women are offered within the abortion discourse. Here the analysis
discussed and thus create a specific context in which the issue can be handled

Finally, notions of women’s and men’s sexuality are explored as they relate to the issues
of abortion and reproductive health.

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Responsibility or Confinement …

Women’s “natural” position within the family also becomes important to highlight since
the role stands in an opposed relation to the roles assigned to men. Many argue this
matter by showing how women’s identities are often constructed so that they contrast
with those values associated with men:

This is reflected in our values by assigning of women’s roles within the family context
only. This leaves the impression that the role of mother or wife is in fact her given role in
society. The responsibilities that this role entails can thus be “best” handled by her since
she and women in general have “always” handled these issues. This leads to a very
deterministic understanding of women’s and men’s roles in society. By ignoring these
oppositional relations and the significance of values attached specifically to women and
men, the delegation indirectly hides who has the greatest power within society

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An honor, a shame…

Some women live in constant fear. They live in constant fear because they could have
their spying brother as their worst enemy, their mother as a tyrant and their father’s honor
depending on how they behave socially. These women ought to obey the norm that exists
otherwise she could be forced to marriage someone, abused or murdered. Hence, within
this environment it is not uncommon that crimes of honor could be seen as heroic deeds
and carried out in a predetermined sense. Therefore, there has always been strong
ambition to give a theoretical perspective that these violations is created by different
social attributes of honor vs. dishonor, control, shame, gender and religious
interpretations that also could be based on aspects of tradition and heritage. Even though
have lived in a multicultural society as in developed countries, women have been
murdered in the name of honor by their relatives.

An estimation of around 5,000 women is killed annually worldwide in the name of

honor.

The exact number of women that have been exposed, affected or victimized by crimes of
honor is not known, neither international nor in Pakistan. It is evident within crimes of
honor that strong elements of ethnicity, heritage, tradition and religious interpretations do
oppress females thus reflecting discrimination within specific groups and/or cultures. The
victims of these crimes ought to be given support and aid, but, there is no specific law or
convention that actually gives its support; hence the legal remedy comes from relevant
regulations. Consequently, the support and punishments that is given could be limited: in
a sense where it is misdirected and wrongly carried out, thus unfavorable for those
women that really need a good support. Still, it is not only legislations and some aspects
of the support that need to be extended, peoples mind too.

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 “The only currency what world knows today, a woman runs.”

Two aspects of a woman stature in present time fascinate me enormously, the respected
and commendable position she got by extreme hard working and commitment and the
leadership attribute she shown recently in every area of life.

The Sun women fetch, keep rising in all walks of Life…

Globally, a woman’s position in life, her education, her ability to make independent
choices and whom she is to marry are connected through her living situation, tradition
and culture. Ideally, a woman’s living situation, class or caste should not have an impact
on whether she is equally treated to men in the society, or not. But, during different
stages in life, a woman has to fight to obtain a level of independence, agitated over the
subordinated position of women and especially with those women who don’t fight for
them selves.

Expectations on women are deeply rooted: getting married, responsibility for the home
and possibly a career. Political policies ensuring equal rights for sons and daughters and
other measures have been taken by the government and society. But there are still many
women who feel that they are completely dependent on their husbands. There is
consequently a need for women to be informed of their rights and possibilities, and to be
able to use these without the threat of being excluded from their families. In many groups
in our society, the process has already begun with a positive result.

The middle class is growing and more women are getting educated. As a result, in so far
as education is correlated with higher degree of personal independence, equal rights put
into practice are also improving. Education is the subject that women from all the groups
are now interesting to discuss and take part. I did not have to explain anything further;
everyone had many things to say in the matter. I draw the conclusion that this is a subject
people discuss quite often. Basic education and higher education seems to be non-
optional for the women in the third group. According to their views, they have to get a
higher education to ensure that they will not be subordinate or dependent upon anyone.
Having their own careers was very important to them.

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Three faces of today’s woman…

There are women in top political positions and women running grassroots organizations.
But there are also women who have no or little knowledge about their legal rights. No
one can say that all women should be discontented with their situation of living and are
obliged to involve themselves in political organizations or self-help groups. But it seems
evident that they ought to be aware of their rights and to be able to speak their mind
without fear of consequences. There were substantial differences in how the women
recognized and exercise freedom in their daily lives. By dividing the women into three
different groups their actions can be analyzed as representative for these three groups.

For the first group of women, the ones living in any less privilege having a few or even
no years in school, education is now too considered of vital importance but despite sill
remain vary difficult. Access to necessary information and enough information to make
independent choices are what we expect to find in our society. Being illiterate restricts
the life of a woman in many ways, for example in her ability to gather information and in
the outlook of getting a good husband.

Women in the second group are literate and have entered the public sphere through
politics where they think of themselves as representing the voices of women. Women
need other women in political positions to plead their cause. It is today possible for a
woman to be leader of a slum area and after some time to reach a political position where
she can have an even greater influence. The presumption that only a woman knows the
needs of women is shared by many of the women. But the needs women have, differ
depending on their position in society. The women in the second group fight for issues
such as those concerning clean water, sanitation, work possibilities, and education for
everyone. In the election campaigns, they turn to voters who would fit into the first group
of women, those living in slum areas, by promising to improve their situation and to meet
their needs of, for example, clean water.

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Women in the third group, those with higher education, are the ones who seem not to be
bound to the home. In contrast, women in the first and second group, with lower or no
education, have full responsibility for the household chores. Some of them expressed
interest in bringing about a change, for example by being able to work or to get involved
in the decision making in the home.

Many things in the daily life of women are connected through the cultural context they
live in. The traditions still live strong in many areas of society. The spheres of women
and men are clearly separated although they are becoming more and more questioned and
challenged.

Those who challenge the spheres are the women from the second and third group, women
who are politically and cognizably active or have a higher education, that is, those with
the ability to do so.

The division of public and private sphere has to be explored in every case; there have
been many changes in women’s position among certain groups of the society, and no
change at all in others.

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Leading the leaders…

How the women look upon gender equality may differ between the groups but
similarities are found in how they define equality and in some of the measures necessary
to change women’s subordinate position to men. Women, who had realized that they did
not have to be subordinate to their husbands, have decided to make a change. They
improved the family’s standard of living and her position as a woman. Women called
upon their rights: freedom of speech, of opinion and equality and they rapidly changed
the situation of their families, societies, countries and the entire globe by and large.

Leadership is not only a classification of governing or regulating the institution or a

system. Leadership includes rights that ought to be claimed in the everyday aspects of
lives of the women. The function and visibility of leadership in a society can therefore be
understood by letting the people speak about their lives and ambitions. Different groups
do not share the same knowledge or the same view of life. Women being kinder and
tender fellow allow their counters and fellows more congenially to express their morals
and believes despite being offered contrary to such practices they always been receiving,
thus originating a whole new form of Kind Leadership, contrary to Kingship.

Leadership comes hand in hand with development in other areas such as reduction of
biases, improving education and in striving for equality. Poverty has to be reduced in
order to be able to send all children specially girls to school. Education can bring
awareness and knowledge of the society, and the women will learn their rights.

World is constantly changing when new generations grow up. The minds and attitudes of
the people have changed and will perhaps change more and I find it very interesting to
learn if there will be a change in how people see the role of women most important in a
modern equal society even greater than that of men.

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 “Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”

Recall the beginning paragraphs, it’s mentioned there that the greater emphasis would
remain on the horizons the women have to face in future, the competence , integrity and
the charisma women has shown, embark the prospective attitude of her she quite
deliberately will have in the upcoming time. The future belongs to woman that’s what I
seriously believe. The later described is my vision and for sure I saw of every objective
optimistic mindset.

The future & women stand by each other…

“THE CENTURY OF WOMEN” is an attractive and honest theme to conclude with, no

doubts many hurdles faced by women were catastrophic and bitterly virulent in gaining such
prosperity she despite such obstacle obtained. Nonetheless it could only be insanity not to
admire and accept such endurance and above all showing reluctance in expecting even more
high achievements and higher skies women is moving apparently to achieve in next coming
century.

Women's lives have changed enormously this century and the actions of women themselves
have played a vital role in the transformation. Putting women back into history is about
giving individual women their history, but it should also be about making some collective
sense out of women's divergent experiences.

At the beginning of the century most women were invisible in society, whatever their class.
Pregnancy and childbirth were hazardous and frequent, as dangerous as abortion, which was
illegal. Contraception was almost totally unavailable. Divorce was complicated and outside
the reach of the poor. Cohabitation and illegitimacy were frowned on and stigmatized.

The participation of women with children and married women in the workforce makes
women just under half of the developing world’s workforce and just about half in the
developed world today. Of course, working-class women have always had to work and many
women whose work achieved greater opportunities for future generations, worked because of
economic necessity. Nevertheless, women are far more independent financially than 100
years ago. Few women had access to higher education; women could not vote or be involved
in mainstream politics years ago; most were not in unions but things have gone far reverse.

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During the recent last decades, women entered jobs that they had never done before. The
development of new light industries and the expansion of clerical work offered a better paid
and less confining alternative.

Mobilization of women in the world, and the high profile they were given in days today, led
to dramatic changes in consciousness amongst women, including about their role in society.
The need for women in the workforce sat uneasily with the desire of politicians to safeguard
a woman's place as being in the home. Despite changes in the nature of work women were
involved in, by the end of the 1940s women were a bigger proportion of the workforce than
in last centuries. The post industrialized upswing, technology, and the expansion of higher
education, increased expectations for women.

All history is the product of the time in which it can be written, and this is also true of A
Century of Women. It is a product of the growth of women's history in the last 100 years
which, according to me, 'has fused personal memories and oral testimony, shifting the focus
of interest and highlighting women's experience'. It seeks to encompass the 'multitude of
events which became daily news decade after decade, along with all those submerged
personal experiences which women's history has sought out'.

My idea of “The Century of Women” deals with the civil rights movement and liberation as
it hurtles along, but it is difficult to feel or to retain a sense of context for much of the
interesting material presented. The lack of a coherent socialist or feminist framework leaves
the 'new right' with the only explained ideology. Its emergence can be seen at the end of the
1960s, and was elaborated and extended in the late 90's.

In the 'decade of the individualism', the ideological centre was moved to the right. Feminism
looked inward and socialism was under fierce ideological attack, and this has left its mark on
women's thinking. Women stresses the much more muddled picture - and a far more
interesting history' that has been made by the 'contrasts (that) are apparent not just between
men and women but within both genders, because of class, race and ethnicity, along with
region, age and disability'. A “Century of Women” chronicles have many aspects of women's
lives and the changes in them.

I tend to end the massage with the prayer that,

“The century is sure of the way forward, the way the women forward; In fact, the way
world forward remains, with the working women, and the action of working-class women,
in transforming women's liberation according to their needs”.

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