...The Empowerment of the Future of Women “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult”, Charlotte Whitton (The Soul Sisters). Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Oprah Winfrey are just a few names who have taken women leadership to the next level. But why does progress still seem to be a struggle for other women? Men seem to be dominating the political world in the U.S., and females seem to be striving to be the next powerhouses, but their professional image seems to be standing in the way of their future. Although women have made significant progress in obtaining low level leadership positions, their professional image continues to prevent them from receiving these same positions in higher forms. Political standards for future female candidates have become increasingly difficult to fulfill. The claim made for women not obtaining these higher level positions is simply because women are “less hierarchical, more cooperative and collaborative, and more oriented increasing other’s self-worth” (Eagly, pg. 2). Candidates for the job must be “likeable and tough” (Braude), which is seemingly become more and more difficult for female leaders these days when men are strong participants with these characteristics. When one wants to put a female and a male in a rink together, who would come out on top? The obvious choice would be the male, but it is not time to give a female the chance? The opportunity for women leaders...
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...is the empowerment of women, with a focus on economic opportunities, decision making and women’s well- being. In many Pacific island countries, it has taken decades for the enduring view that a women’s place in society is at home in accordance with spiritual beliefs, custom, tradition, and norms. Empowering women represents a diverse range of concepts and may vary widely among individuals, cultures and countries. This essay will examine the benefits of empowering women at an individual level, benefits which can be summarized as economic, political and social. Firstly, economic empowerment is one of the most important driving forces behind economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic empowerment interprets women’s ability to act on their own and make decisions on matters that affect them. In order to increase economic advancement of women, there is an urgent need to formulate the right policies that can allow such an objective to grow unhindered by uncertainty and doubt. Education policies that encourage and offer training opportunities in developing women’s entrepreneurship opportunities and improving women’s access to finance is another major instrument in generating income, reducing poverty and improving the standards of health and so forth. Formal and non- formal education systems are the key foundations for more women participating in the economic arena.. A local example by the Minister for Women, Dr. Jiko Luveni in a statement at the final day of the Pacific Women in Business...
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...debate on women, their rights, their future and their plight has been going on. As time changed, women also changed but the issue of conflict remains the same. In this regard many oppose the changes and many accept it. This essay will discuss the issues that are surrounding the empowerment of women. The implementation of women empowerment has both negative and positive aspects. There can be many disadvantages of empowering women. Firstly, many people still have the traditional perception that the woman's place in the society is her home. Empowering women would mean to allow her to leave her comfort zone and indulge in activities that could pollute her spiritually, emotionally and physically. A woman’s most precious possession is her virginity (Hudson, 1977). Most Islamic countries still follow this norm. Therefore, many at times women might not be given a fair chance to go out in the society to fulfill their dreams, socialize or to even voice out their opinions. For example; a Muslim woman is denied the right to choose her husband, report of abuse and is even excluded from mosques due to certain Islamic principles (Issues Of Concern For Muslim Women, 1995). As such, this can prove to be a little difficult for women living in some Islamic countries to totally move away from their cultural values. Secondly, lack of education for rural women restricts women from knowing their legal rights and also from getting involved in activities outside the home. In some areas women are still...
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...One of the sisters, Phoebe, is made out to be infatuated by sexual desires due to being linked with a man killing demon, known as a ‘Succubus’. The demon kills men for their testosterone, while trying to reveal the demon, Phoebe’s sister Prue gets transformed into a man. Also interesting in this particular episode is that the men who are disrespectful towards the women are the ones that are killed. While stereotypically women were displayed on television in a way that facilitated the “male gaze” in this episode both the male and female gaze are seen, giving a sense of gender equality. The sisters stare with desire at their neighbour Dan while at a dating event and likewise when Prue turns into a man she gazes at women, rather than men. In a short summary this episode really highlights the power of the women, as they are able to beat the demon and are not represented in a stereotypical way, they are sexually free and very much...
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...Department of Anthropology University of Witwatersrand ESSAY TWO – DUE 21st OCTOBER 2011 Write an essay on one of the following questions, using the reading material in your reading pack and, where possible, other research and readings that you discover independently. The essays should be typed and between 2,000 - 2,500 words long, at 1.5 spacing and margins of at least 2.5 cm all around. Please number pages and ensure that your NAME and STUDENT NUMBER are on the upper right corner of the first/front page. Choose one of the following topics/questions: 1) With reference to at least two ethnographic examples discuss the relationship between motherhood, militarization and resistance. 2) Batliwala and Ahanraj (2007:21) argue that it is a “gender myth” to assume that giving poor women access to economic resources - such as credit –will ensure their overall empowerment. Discuss what they mean by this idea of “gender myth” with reference to the shifts from Women in Development (WID) to Gender and Development (GAD). 3) With reference to at least two ethnographic studies explain and discuss the significance of heterosexual masculinities and femininities in shaping experiences of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infection, treatment, and care. 4) With reference to Robert Morrell’s work on the shifting notions of masculinity (2001) as well as other relevant ethnographic examples discuss the role of race and class in shaping gender patterns in South...
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...2. Women Empowerment in Modern India Dr. Shruti Singh For centuries women were not treated equal to men in many ways. They were not allowed to own property, they did not have a Share in the property of their parents, they had no voting rights, and they had no freedom to choose their work or job and so on. Gender inequality has been part and parcel of an accepted male-dominated Indian society throughout history. Women were expected to be bound to the house, while men went out and worked. This division of labor was one of the major reasons why certain evils like 'Sati Pratha', ‘PardahSystem', 'Child Marriage', 'Dowry System', etc. took birth in our society. The traditional Indian mentality assumes that the place of women is mainly concentrated to the household activities like kitchen work and upbringing of the children. There is systematic discrimination against women economically, socially, politically and culturally more so, in India. These discriminations & disabilities are practiced at all levels day in & day out. Women Empowerment is the ability of women to exercise full control over their actions. This means control over material assets, intellectual resources and even over their ideologies. It involves, at the psychological level, women's ability to assert them which has, so far, been constricted by the 'gender roles' assigned to them especially in a culture like India which resists changes. This essay throws light upon the different challenges that are faced by Indian...
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...Prevalent Feminist Media Fallacies of Female Empowerment While many efforts have proven successful to halt them, the danger of pervasive toxic ideas still poses a large threat to the building of female character. Ideas and thoughts shape the way humans perceive and therefore experience life. Moreover, women have learned, and continue to learn how to hate their inherent qualities and some modern feminist ideals have not helped to resolve this. Surprisingly, an essay by Herbert Kohl titled Should We Burn Babar has brought this to my attention. To summarize his main idea, the Babar children’s book series, by Jean de Brunhoff, according to Kohl has powerful and potentially harmful negative influence on American children’s perspective of life,...
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...Do women stereotypes have a good impact on Women Empowerment? Blablalel There is no coincidence if the recent bestseller pointing the worldwide yet hardly visible issue of women around the world, borrows the Chinese express that women hold up half the sky. In such a context where the global position of women makes them 21st-century slaves, the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, contributes in emphasizing that the freedom and independence of the world’ s women is the contemporary most crucial moral challenge. It is true that women around the world tend to hold positions of lower status and authority and are less likely to be employed in the paid work force (Eagly, 735). Women have historically been constrained by deep-rooted stereotypes that fuel a traditional perception of their place in society. Indeed, gender expectations regarding women’s roles participate in maintaining a majority of them in a subordinate position within the society and within the family - as housekeepers. Generally characterized as intellectually, but more particularly physically weaker than men, women’s agency is diminished by gender prejudices and women have to continuously, and in a larger extent than for their male counterparts, impose themselves to belong to society as full citizens. However, all these conventional images on women’s status are not vain and shore up women’s willpower to fight and be part of politics, culture and history as equal to men....
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...Prior to the American Revolution and during the 18th century, the quality of education was considered sporadic at best. However, over time, education was prioritized, and it was able to become a normal part of society. The type of schooling offered was typically very different depending on the gender and background, but many were at least able to enter the realm of work, politics, and activism. McMahon states this led to the social status of women to change immensely, and that “. . . Education was a critical tool of self-fashioning and empowerment for women” (Of the Utmost Importance, 477). Lucia McMahon established her argument with the use of documents such as essays, speeches, newspapers, and books. The primary sources, on the other hand,...
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...Political Empowerment of Women: Comparative Study of South Asian Countries Amna Mahmood A South Asia is a home of variety of cultures, languages and religions. Here we can find a number of variations in customs, value systems and ways of life. But one thing is common among all the cultures and regions of South Asia that is gender discrimination. Women traditionally are considered subordinated to the male and this remained a prominent feature both in the rural and the urban areas. In urban areas a little improvement is due to enhanced level of education and economic independence in women. There is very less distinction of educated and uneducated as that of religion in this regard. The situation is improved with regard to political empowerment especially with the allocation of 33% seats in local government in South Asia but in most of the cases this change is not satisfactory. The real empowerment would be achieved only if it would be accompanied by the social and economic empowerment. For that purpose, society has to be changed at large. Such change cannot be materialized only through any coercive legislation or strong state action in the blink of an eye. But the fact remains there that in societies where all the changes start from top to bottom these measures along with a strong political will can stimulate a change to improve the situation gradually. This paper discusses the measures taken by different governments in South Asia to achieve the goal of political empowerment and participation...
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...Argumentative Essay: Upending Convention Fashion Theory (FTH01) Buhle Manyathi MAN019 Thursday 13Hrs class Blairgowrie Intro: Fashion has always played a leading role in constructing images and meanings during periods of rapid social, economic and technological change. It can act out gender issues, ideals of beauty, it can stake out the territory of new social and sexual identities. For Evans, fashion is a kind of historical scavenging. In this essay I will convey how Alexandra McQueen uses the design strategy of terror as defined by Caroline Evans in order to represent female sexuality as terror. The power of female display is pictured as terrifying and scary. I will also show how uses the strategy of fear towards a similar effect. Theme: The symbolic production of fashion has taken an almost mystical role, outside temporal or physical dimension. A female’s sexuality can either be extremely feminine or extremely terrifyingly male. Evans mentions that “the representation of female sexuality as terror” (Evans; 2004:6) has been used to display female strength and domination through designer Alexandra McQueen’s designs. For instance female sexuality can be deceptive due to how females use “power to terrify” (Evans; 2004:6). This can be found “precisely in the distance between their purely biological femininity and their transgender actions” (Evans; 2004:6). Therefore a female uses” her sexuality as a sword” (Evans; 2004:6) rather than a way to protect layer. Due to the fact...
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...Hill Collins is apart of the sociological community and she also happens to be the first African American woman to hold her role (Higginbotham 2008). Her leadership and independence lead African American woman today. During the 1900’s, Collins and Kimberly Crenshaw conceived the concept of intersectionality that dealt with the lives and experiences of individuals in their diversity (Hobbs, Rice 17). Intersectionality was described as women and men living multiple layers of identities and were experiencing oppression and privilege (Hobbs, Rice 18). Intersectionality explores gender, sexuality, race, class, disability, age, and much more but it is evident to men and women to display the positions of power. Patricia Hill Collins published,...
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...Abstract Feminism has evolved over the years; it is no longer solely focused on suffrage or other forms of institutionalized sexism. The focus today is the personal experiences women face which are characterized by issues such as reproductive rights, sexuality, and domestic violence. Feminism hopes to do away with generalizations for men and women that were created in earlier generations. The present article sought to identify and explain the characteristics of the three major sociological paradigms, a) the function of women in society, b) the conflict women experience in society, c) the symbolic interaction that each gender have with one another. The studies presented have been known to be the most recent and reliable research performed on feminism. Feminism “The feminist ideal seems simple: it is a movement fighting for gender equality. As neutral as its definition sounds, the movement has unfortunately at points been exploited as the female agenda to take over the world.” (Tasnim Ahmed , 2015) Feminism has evolved over the years but it all started back in the 18th century. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, an author in the 18th century, wrote an essay titled, “A Vindication of the Right of Woman” which entailed arguments for a woman’s right to an education. Wollstonecraft’s essay predates modern feminism, which can be divided into three waves (Carl, 2011, p.200). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the first wave began which revolved mostly around the women’s suffrage...
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...agriculture. Over time, the smallholder agriculture-centric concept of rural development underwent significant changes. Rural development was no longer viewed from a narrow point of view as it was the case in previous decades. On the contrary, rural development later began to be perceived as a multidimensional and complex concept that should be viewed from several angles. As a result of its multidimensional nature, the concept of rural development later began to focuses not only on agriculture, but also encompasses the development of other allied activities such as village and small house industries, crafts work, socio-economic infrastructure, community services and facilities and, above all, human resources in rural areas. For this reason, this essay intends to discuss the meaning of rural development in developing nations with good illustrations. As a logical starting point, discussing the meaning of rural development in developing nations requires thorough definitions of key concepts which in this case are; ‘rural areas and development.’ Literally, rural development...
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...Women in the Ancient World From the very beginning of time, women have played a very significant role in development and advancement of life, serving as the companion for men as well as procreating with them to ensure the world would be inhabited and settled. In present-day society, we view women as essential to everyday life. Society sees and treats women as intelligent individuals who are equally efficient for most of the same work and intellectual skills as men. In most cases, we believe that women and men are equal, as women are able to legally run for and hold government offices, perform physical labor, work in medical professions, and basically anything they desire so long as, like anyone else, they attain the required certifications, education, etc. However, this outlook on women’s roles and abilities was not always shared among the social order. Throughout history, women’s roles in society, economy, government and culture have evolved and shifted dramatically. Throughout each culture and society in the ancient world, we find differences in the way women were treated, the responsibilities expected of them, and their learned place in the social order. Women featured in Homer’s The Iliad were some of some earliest examples of women being viewed with poor outlooks in the eyes of men in Greek culture. David Harvey claims that Aristotle had no doubt that women were inferior in this particular society (Harvey, 46). They were mainly viewed as prizes throughout Homer’s...
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