Women’s Roles Around the World

Kahlon, Jaipreen

Women’s Roles Around The World

 Intro to Sociology B1A, T/Th, 1:00 pm - 2:25 pm

3rd April 2018

        Over time the roles of gender have evolved giving men and women the rights to do or be whatever or whoever they desire to be. Women have fought over the ages to gain equal treatment as men, with work, pay, and recreation. In todays’ age, many countries and governments in the world have promoted equality for women, some areas do not. In certain countries women (although highly respected of) are not expected or even allowed to do mens labor, or be educated. Gender roles and responsibilities vary from country to country. In different cultures, women still are expected to maintain the stereotype of being a good housewife and stay at home mother that cooks, cleans and takes care of the children. Other Countries promote gender equality so highly that women are placed as leaders equal to men in larger parts of the world.

        Afghanistan is considered one of the most restricted countries for women’s rights. Many of the women are married off at young ages and are expected to bear children to gain respect for their families. Society expects women to stay at home and not interact much with the community around mainly for safety from violence. “Women and children are incorporated into the idea of property and belong to a male” in certain tribes (Riphenburg 2003:188). Although in some areas in the country some women are put in seclusion, some rise up to opportunities in the political aspects. Some women in Carol J. Riphenburg’s article;

Sima Samar, a physician and founder of the Shuhada Organization network of clinics, hospitals and schools in Pakistan and central Afghanistan, was elected Minister for Women's Affairs, as well as one of five vice-chairs in the new govemment lead by Hamid Karzai. In addition to Dr Samar, Suhaila Siddiqi, a surgeon and former army general became Minister of Public Health’ (Riphenburg 2003:190).

Womens rights in Afghanistan are hardly considered, “recognized or supported” (Riphenburg 195). Some women become school teachers, and work in hospitals. In the past some of these women worked undercover, even as lawyers and doctors have become more openly professional. Many of the girls in Afghanistan have been limited to education by the age level of maturity and readiness for marriage. Once a girl reaches the age of 12 in some families, they discontinue her from secondary level of education, unless they see it as a legitimate benefit for her family. Although some families restrict their girls some allow them to continue their secondary education and many of them make it to college,  “In Kabul, around 50 per cent of those newly enrolled were girls. Out of a possible 4.4 million, 1.6 million children are going to school. Women are returning to the university and have a newly rehabilitated dormitory in which to live and study” (Riphenburg 199). Adult illiteracy rates for women in 2002 were at incredible high percentage of 85 and the government did issue new programs to improve the rates.

        Russia, one of the best Countries in regard to the the promotion of the gender equality.

Russia was the first country to legally give women the choice whether or not to terminate a pregnancy, and also currently has an female president. In 1992 women were allowed to enlist into the armed forces, “…the percentage of women in the armed forces rose from 3.5 percent in 1990 to almost 10 percent in 1999” (Smirnov 2002:61).Women have found it empowering to join the forces, it creates it different type of addition to the world’s modernization. In 2002 over 3,300 women were commissioned officers and positioned as junior chiefs.  "About 30,000 women (26.1 percent) are army or navy warrant officers, whereas 81,300 (71 percent) of the servicewomen are noncommissioned officers, master sergeants, petty officers, soldiers, and sailors” (Smirnov 62). Women have found a sense of integrity and patriotism once taking matters in their own hands, when it comes to fighting for their country women have found equal standards as men. They serve on the same areas and fight the same enemy as men and also still managed to take care of their own families back home. According to Smirnov’s review included an survey that was conducted on military servicewomen, in 2002 only 11.2% of women serving in the army are divorced, 57.1% are married and have children, 17.8% are not married, 2.6% are widows and 2.4% are widows with children (Smirnov 63). Based on if women had children at home affected the way they choose their area they wanted to serve in the army. Being in infantry did have a greater risk of survival and having the chance of leaving their families alone was a choice a lot of mothers chose not to make. One of the greatest differences between men and women was the ability to control their emotions, which at the beginning was one of the worries they had when allowing women to enlist. Now they have been able to realize that women like men can learn to control their behavior emotions. Often other men serving alongside with women tend to revoke and irritate their female troops, mainly when selection occurs. In 2002 the rate of discrimination in the army was 8.7% recognized by the women. The other percentage did not realize they were being discriminated or simply did not care. The types of discrimination varied by different job areas:

        America has come a long way with the rights of women. Many women in history had fought long and hard to gain their long deserved rights equal to men. In todays day women have improved in society. America gives women the right with discrimination against race to be educated, work, and join the army if they choose to. Women have risen up higher and in Americas 2016 election almost had its first female president. Although Hillary lost, she empowered women, gave them the motivation to be whoever they want, even attempt to be president if that is their hearts desire. In America from 2013, “31.7 million (29.%) women aged 25 years and older had completed high school but had not attended college” (Brown 2016:11). Since the 1940’s the country’s college graduation status has increased drastically, while in the 40’s the percentage of women college graduates was only 3.8%. 94.9% of American women graduated from high school which was also a drastic change from 1940 which was at a low 26.3% (Brown 11). Women have moved into many different types of nontraditional job fields. “Farmers, ranchers, architects, detectives and criminal investigators, computer programers and butchers” (Brown 54). A few years ago that was not the case, pay rate was decreased for a working women than of a man. Women in America as well have increased in size with military personal, 16,080 in the army, 9,489 in the Navy, 1,455 Marine corps, 12,373 in the Air Force, and totally in the department of defense 1,313,363 (Brown 62). Women entrepreneurs have increased to approximately to 9.4 billion privately owned businesses (Brown 63). Women today do currently have equal pay rate as men when working in the same job area and field, “[t]he earnings ratio hovered near 60% from 1960 through the early 1980s, when it began to climb rapidly. The ratio grew from 60% in 1980 to 71.6% in 1990, but then over the following two decades growth in women’s earning relative to men’s was slower” (Brown 66). Women now even though President trump is trying to repeal the women’s equal pay, still continue to fight and pull through and find ways to stay equal and fair as men.

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