FEMINISM

Belief and theories that emphasizes womens rights and their position in society. It is not a single ideology . First wave: 1800; concerned with gaining equal rights between women and men. Second wave: 1960s; fight for equality but also have developed a range of theories and approaches that stress the differences between women and men. Third wave; new generation which is radical and extreme. FEMINISM IN A NUTSHELL Core feminism / core feminist theory united by idea that men and women should be equal politically, economically and socially They deny that there is inherent biological distinction between men and women on the basis of sex which determines that the wife should be the housewife and the mother and the husband the breadwinner They insist on equal pay, equal education, and equal opportunities in work They insist that all women should be given the right to complete control over their reproductive lives, and hence ask for free contraception and abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy Has succeeded in drawing public attention to inequality between women and men and the structures within society that belittle and work against women RESULT : reconsideration of women role in workplace, policies that promote equal pay and opportunities, tackled the problem of sexual harassments at work , challenging perception of woman skill

APPROACHES TO FEMINISM 3 approaches: 1. The liberalist on Feminism Mary Wollstonecraft - first known feminist in history. In her A Vindications of the Rights of Women (1792), she challenged the conventions of the day that the sole purpose of women were to bear and raise children and to please men. She demand equal rights for women in education, employment and administration Her idea became popular in 19th century. Harriet Taylor in Enfranchisement of Women (1851) argued strongly favor of married woman having a life and career of their own. She contended that if women both earned and had a right to possess a part of the income of the family

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John Stuart Mill believed in the mala-female friendship of marriage. The Subjection of Women- the legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong in itself. On Liberty value of individual freedom 20th Century, attract large following. The Feminine mystique 1963, Betty Friedan pointed to women frustration with social norms that were prejudiced against them. She established the National Organization of Women (NOW) in USA.

2. The Marxist on Feminism

Marxist feminist have added the women question to the class equation in capitalist society. They consider gender status to be the outcome of economic factors rather than cultural values. The only solution to ending sexual asymmetry is to bring women back into the sphere of social production The idea of women as passive victims of class society is clearly not acceptable. Sexism not classism fundamentally constitutes the inequality and that it will not be resolved by the abolition of class society Shulamith argued that because the roots of women oppression are biological, the liberation of women could come only through a biological technological revolution Firestone concluded that real transformation of society requires free of woman from the tyranny of their productive biology, diffusion of child bearing and child-rearing to the society as a whole.

3. The Islamic school and feminism The follower of Islamic school consider Western feminism to be poor example that has nothing to give to the women in 3rd world country They consider feminism liberal/Marxist to be one of the many instruments of colonialism. Western feminists have developed and analysis which is all but irrelevant to the lives of the majority of women (have made women into permanent second class citizens Muslim Women have no need of western examples In Islam men and women are created as equal human beings though obviously not identical. It is repeated over and over in Quran that women and men are created as companions on earth to complement and comfort each other. Women are encouraged to give their opinions and ideas in Islam According to Islamic Law, a womans right to her money , real estate, or other property is fully acknowledged

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There is no decree in Islam which forbids woman from seeking employment whenever there is a necessity for it First, Shariah emphasize the role of the extended rather than the nuclear family the unit of society Second Islamic traditions prescribe a much stronger participation of the family in the contracting and preservation of marriages.(while most Western decry family participation or arranged marriage as a negative influence) Third, Islam and Muslim women generally advocate moulding of individual goals and interests to accord with the welfare of the larger group and its members. Forth, Islam specifies a differentiation of male and female roles and responsibilities in society. Every Muslim Individual, whether male of female retains a separate identity from cradle to grave. In the Quran : no difference whatever is made between the sexes in relation to God Finally , the Quran and the Shariah categorically demands a separate legal status for women Marriage has no effects on a womans legal status, her property, her earnings and even her name