An Essay And Article On Role Of Indian Women In Society It is true that the worth of a civilization can be measured by the

place that it gives to women in the society. It is also true that where women are honored, there gods live. Indian Women in the past enjoyed an exalted position in the society. They excelled in various spheres of life and enjoyed every kind of liberty to develop themselves, socially, morally and intellectually. owever, the position did not remain the same for long. !uring "uslim and #ritish rule, her position was eclipsed. $he was deprived of a wide measure of liberty and was confined within the four walls of the house. $he was thought more as a possession than a human being. $he was reduced to be a play thing of man and an object to gratify his lust, whims and fancies. Women and Nursing Woman is an ideal nurse. %s doctors and surgeons they can relieve much human suffering and pain. The country needs her service in this direction far more urgently. It. does not, however, mean that they are not fit for administrative or executive jobs. They have a &uick understanding of the work entrusted to them and are cool headed, objective and impartial in their approach. They have rare devotion to duty and have peaceful approach to the problems Women As Peace Maker Woman by nature is a peace maker. $he is blessed with the' tact and skill to convince and drive the argument in her favor. In judicial and executive posts she is more objective, unbiased and unprejudiced than man. In the field of international politics and diplomacy she has already lifted the image of our country. !iplomacy is her latent &uality. (oliteness of appearance closely guards her strong and bold heart. Woman's heart is always overflowing with the milk of human kindness. In this respect the cjuntry needs her particularly for village service to impart the necessary teaching of family planning to the village woman. $he can teach the rules of hygiene and sanitation and child care. $he can thus bring about true moral, social and spiritual emancipation among village people and the masses on the whole.Woman is essentially a soldier all her life fighting against her first and the foremost enemy that is her sex. owever, the fighting ability of woman can be better harnessed for the purpose of leadership and service. They today receive training in )ational *adet *orps and have the fine opportunity to be of service in case of national emergency. Todays women Today women have made considerable progress, yet it is desired that in order to prove themselves worthy of the country, the freedom enjoyed by them is not misused. If we are honest, we must recognize that women of our country still have to fight against men and age+old prejudices to assert themselves.' "en must, therefore, dispel the vain and futile sense of superiority and grant them e&ual chance and opportunity in life and in the work of building a mighty nation. Today woman has established her claims to e&uality with man in all walks of life. T e situation of women in Pakistan ,ender relations in (akistan rest on two basic perceptions- that women are subordinate to men, and that a man.s honor resides in the actions of the women of his family. Thus, as in other orthodox "uslim societies, women are responsible for maintaining the family honor. To ensure that they do not dishonor their families, society limits women.s mobility, places restrictions on their behavior and activities, and permits them only limited contact with the opposite sex. $pace is allocated to and used differently by men and women. /or their protection and respectability, women have traditionally been expected to live under the constraints of purdah 0purdah is (ersian for curtain1, most obvious in veiling. #y separating women from the activities of men, both physically and symbolically, purdah creates differentiated male and female spheres. "ost women spend the major part of their lives physically within their homes and courtyards and go out only for serious and approved reasons(urdah is practiced in various ways, depending on family tradition, region, class, and rural or urban residence, but nowhere do unrelated men and women mix freely. The most extreme restraints are found in parts of the )orth+West /rontier (rovince and #alochistan, where women almost never leave their homes except when they marry and almost never meet unrelated men. They may not be allowed contact with male cousins on their mother.s side, for these men are not classed as relatives in a strongly patrilineal society. $imilarly, they have only very formal relations with those men they are allowed to meet, such as the father+in+ law, paternal uncles, and brothers+in+law.

(oor urban women in close+knit communities, such as the old cities of 2ahore and 3awalpindi, generally wear either a bur&a 0fitted body veil1 or a chador 0loosely draped cotton cloth used as a head covering and body veil1 when they leave their homes. In these localities, multistory dwellings 0havelis1 were constructed to accommodate large extended families. "any havelis have now been sectioned off into smaller living units to economize. It is common for one nuclear family 0with an average of seven members1 to live in one or two rooms on each small floor. In less densely populated areas, where people generally do not know their neighbors, there are fewer restrictions on women.s mobility. The shared understanding that women should remain within their homes so neighbors do not gossip about their respectability has important implications for their productive activities. %s with public life in general, work appears to be the domain of men. 3ural women work for consumption or for exchange at the subsistence level. 4thers, both rural and urban, do piecework for very low wages in their homes. Their earnings are generally recorded as part of the family income that is credited to men. *ensus data and other accounts of economic activity in urban areas support such conclusions. /or example, the 5675 census reported that 8.9 percent of all women were employed, as opposed to :;.< percent of men= less than < percent of all urban women were engaged in some form of salaried work. #y 5677 this figure had increased significantly, but still only 5>.; percent of women were reported as participating in the labor force. %mong wealthier (akistanis, urban or rural residence is less important than family tradition in influencing whether women observe strict purdah and the type of veil they wear. In some areas, women simply observe ?eye purdah?- they tend not to mix with men, but when they do, they avert their eyes when interacting with them. #azaars in wealthier areas of (unjabi cities differ from those in poorer areas by having a greater proportion of unveiled women. In cities throughout the )orth+West /rontier (rovince, #alochistan, and the interior of $indh, bazaars are markedly devoid of women, and when a woman does venture forth, she always wears some sort of veil. The traditional division of space between the sexes is perpetuated in the broadcast media. Women.s subservience is consistently shown on television and in films. %nd, although popular television dramas raise controversial issues such as women working, seeking divorce, or even having a say in family politics, the programs often suggest that the woman who strays from traditional norms faces insurmountable problems and becomes alienated from her family. T e Status of Women and t e Women!s Mo"ement /our important challenges confronted women in (akistan in the early 566>s- increasing practical literacy, gaining access to employment opportunities at all levels in the economy, promoting change in the perception of women.s roles and status, and gaining a public voice both within and outside of the political process. There have been various attempts at social and legal reform aimed at improving "uslim women.s lives in the subcontinent during the twentieth century. These attempts generally have been related to two broader, intertwined movements- the social reform movement in #ritish India and the growing "uslim nationalist movement. $ince partition, the changing status of women in (akistan largely has been linked with discourse about the role of Islam in a modern state. This debate concerns the extent to which civil rights common in most Western democracies are appropriate in an Islamic society and the way these rights should be reconciled with Islamic family law. "uslim reformers in the nineteenth century struggled to introduce female education, to ease some of the restrictions on women.s activities, to limit polygyny, and to ensure women.s rights under Islamic law. $ir $yed %hmad @han convened the "ohammedan Aducational *onference in the 57:>s to promote modern education for "uslims, and he founded the "uhammadan %nglo+ 4riental *ollege. %mong the predominantly male participants were many of the earliest proponents of education and improved social status for women. They advocated cooking and sewing classes conducted in a religious framework to advance women.s knowledge and skills and to reinforce Islamic values. #ut progress in women.s literacy was slow- by 56;5 only four out of every 5,>>> "uslim females were literate. (romoting the education of women was a first step in moving beyond the constraints imposed by purdah. The nationalist struggle helped fray the threads in that socially imposed curtain. $imultaneously, women.s roles were &uestioned, and their empowerment was linked to the larger

issues of nationalism and independence. In 56B: the "uslim (ersonal 2aw restored rights 0such as inheritance of property1 that had been lost by women under the %nglicization of certain civil laws. %s independence neared, it appeared that the state would give priority to empowering women. (akistan.s founding father, "ohammad %li Cinnah, said in a speech in 56<<%fter independence, elite "uslim women in (akistan continued to advocate women.s political empowerment through legal reforms. They mobilized support that led to passage of the "uslim (ersonal 2aw of $haria in 56<7, which recognized a woman.s right to inherit all forms of property. They were also behind the futile attempt to have the government include a *harter of Women.s 3ights in the 5689 constitution. The 5695 "uslim /amily 2aws 4rdinance covering marriage and divorce, the most important sociolegal reform that they supported, is still widely regarded as empowering to women. Two issues++promotion of women.s political representation and accommodation between "uslim family law and democratic civil rights++came to dominate discourse about women and sociolegal reform. The second issue gained considerable attention during the regime of Dia ul+ a& 056::+771. Erban women formed groups to protect their rights against apparent discrimination under Dia.s Islamization program. It was in the highly visible realm of law that women were able to articulate their objections to the Islamization program initiated by the government in 56:6. (rotests against the 56:6 Anforcement of udood 4rdinances focused on the failure of hudood ordinances to distinguish between adultery 0zina1 and rape 0zina+bil+jabr1. % man could be convicted of zina only if he were actually observed committing the offense by other men, but a woman could be convicted simply because she became pregnant. The Women.s %ction /orum was formed in 5675 to respond to the implementation of the penal code and to strengthen women.s position in society generally. The women in the forum, most of whom came from elite families, perceived that many of the laws proposed by the Dia government were discriminatory and would compromise their civil status. In @arachi, 2ahore, and Islamabad the group agreed on collective leadership and formulated policy statements and engaged in political action to safeguard women.s legal position. The Women.s %ction /orum has played a central role in exposing the controversy regarding various interpretations of Islamic law and its role in a modern state, and in publicizing ways in which women can play a more active role in politics. Its members led public protests in the mid+567>s against the promulgation of the 2aw of Avidence. %lthough the final version was substantially modified, the Women.s %ction /orum objected to the legislation because it gave une&ual weight to testimony by men and women in financial cases. /undamentally, they objected to the assertion that women and men cannot participate as legal e&uals in economic affairs. #eginning in %ugust 5679, the Women.s %ction /orum members and their supporters led a debate over passage of the $hariat #ill, which decreed that all laws in (akistan should conform to Islamic law. They argued that the law would undermine the principles of justice, democracy, and fundamental rights of citizens, and they pointed out that Islamic law would become identified solely with the conservative interpretation supported by Dia.s government. "ost activists felt that the $hariat #ill had the potential to negate many of the rights women had won. In "ay 5665, a compromise version of the $hariat #ill was adopted, but the debate over whether civil law or Islamic law should prevail in the country continued in the early 566>s. !iscourse about the position of women in Islam and women.s roles in a modern Islamic state was sparked by the government.s attempts to formalize a specific interpretation of Islamic law. %lthough the issue of evidence became central to the concern for women.s legal status, more mundane matters such as mandatory dress codes for women and whether females could compete in international sports competitions were also being argued. %nother of the challenges faced by (akistani women concerns their integration into the labor force. #ecause of economic pressures and the dissolution of extended families in urban areas, many more women are working for wages than in the past. #ut by 566> females officially made up only 5B percent of the labor force. 3estrictions on their mobility limit their opportunities, and traditional notions of propriety lead families to conceal the extent of work performed by women.

Esually, only the poorest women engage in work++often as midwives, sweepers, or nannies++for compensation outside the home. "ore often, poor urban women remain at home and sell manufactured goods to a middleman for compensation. "ore and more urban women have engaged in such activities during the 566>s, although to avoid being shamed few families willingly admit that women contribute to the family economically. ence, there is little information about the work women do. 4n the basis of the predominant fiction that most women do no work other than their domestic chores, the government has been hesitant to adopt overt policies to increase women.s employment options and to provide legal support for women.s labor force participation. The Enited )ations *hildren.s /und 0E)I*A/1 commissioned a national study in 566; on women.s economic activity to enable policy planners and donor agencies to cut through the existing myths on female labor+force participation. The study addresses the specific reasons that the assessment of women.s work in (akistan is filled with discrepancies and underenumeration and provides a comprehensive discussion of the range of informal+ sector work performed by women throughout the country. Information from this study was also incorporated into the Aighth /ive+Fear (lan 0566B+671. % melding of the traditional social welfare activities of the women.s movement and its newly revised political activism appears to have occurred. !iverse groups including the Women.s %ction /orum, the %ll+(akistan Women.s %ssociation, the (akistan Women 2awyers. %ssociation, and the #usiness and (rofessional Women.s %ssociation, are supporting small+scale projects throughout the country that focus on empowering women. They have been involved in such activities as instituting legal aid for indigent women, opposing the gendered segregation of universities, and publicizing and condemning the growing incidents of violence against women. The (akistan Women 2awyers. %ssociation has released a series of films educating women about their legal rights= the #usiness and (rofessional Women.s %ssociation is supporting a comprehensive project inside Fakki ,ate, a poor area inside the walled city of 2ahore= and the 4rangi (ilot (roject in @arachi has promoted networks among women who work at home so they need not be dependent on middlemen to ac&uire raw materials and market the clothes they produce. The women.s movement has shifted from reacting to government legislation to focusing on three primary goals- securing women.s political representation in the )ational %ssembly= working to raise women.s consciousness, particularly about family planning= and countering suppression of women.s rights by defining and articulating positions on events as they occur in order to raise public awareness. %n as yet unresolved issue concerns the perpetuation of a set number of seats for women in the )ational %ssembly. "any women activists whose expectations were raised during the brief tenure of #enazir #hutto.s first government 0!ecember 5677+%ugust 566>1 now believe that, with her return to power in 4ctober 566B, they can seize the initiative to bring about a shift in women.s personal and public access to power.

Women's role, right, status *hapter ; 3eview of 2iterature *aland and @arine 056691 in pre+modern society, marriages were arranged as a strategy of biological, cultural, and social reproduction that furthered family interests, the process of privatization and emotionalization that occurred in the late 57th century resulted in a shift from marriage of reason to marriage of inclination. This sentimentalization of the conjugal relationship was accompanied by a transformation of sexual practices in which sexuality was somewhat disassociated from procreation through attempts at contraception. !uring the569>s+56:>s, women.s liberation and the generalization of women.s professional participation further altered the conjugal relationship, as women gained more social and financial independence and improved contraception led to a sexual emancipation. "arriage was substantially deinstitutionalized, resulting in a balancing of sexuality, a new fragility in conjugal relationships, increased divorce rates, and the replacement of the ideal of monogamy with successive temporary monogamies.

2eutner "echthild and $pakowski )icola 056691 the mixed impacts of economic reform in the peoples 3epublic of *hina on women and the gender order are analyzed. The degrees to which individual a women have been helped are harmed by the liberalization and forced industrialization of the *hinese economy is argued to be a product of a variety of other socio+demographic factors, especially urban or rural residence. %lthough discrimination against women prevails, it is concluded that it is a result of specific political discussions, not of economic transformation as such, a positive result of reform is the emergence of more collective action by women, most of which is locally based and aimed at concrete social problems and not the national political structure, the self+ understanding of the *hinese women.s movement and its emancipation strategies and activities are discussed. ,ole )ilufer 0566:1 explores the centrality of gender in shaping the political debates, social transformations, and definitions of public and private spheres in "uslim countries, through examination of female emancipation in Turkey= it is argued that women.s issues have been critical in the shaping of modern political debates and the public sphere in "uslim countries. The Turkish historical experience with secularism is described, as the struggle in "uslim countries generally, between the emergence of women.s agency and public visibility, and traditional precepts of Islam demanding the seclusion and segregation of women. The author stated that in most traditional societies girls were kept largely with in the confirms of householdsGfamily, they were not protested and taught to accept the decision made by parents, teachers and olders brothers on their behalf. "ilz elga 056671 a review essay on at ,erman feminist analysis of power, gender relations and the social inclusionsGexclusions of women. *entral themes elaborated are the public vs. the private and the continuing debate on whether female emancipation should be best on gender difference or e&uality. Topics discussed include various forms of women.s political participations, legal and medical power over women.s bodies, power in female and male speech, women under contemporary economic globalization, transnational organizing by women.s movements, the performance of power, biological and socio+cultural accounts of gender position. Wischermann Ella 056671 the ,erman 3evolution of 57<7 is reconsidered in terms of genders and it is argued that the 56th + and ;>th century women.s movement share features including a politicalization of the private and public organs of a sitting of a social upheaval . Women allied with men before and during the revolution in a struggle over the public sphere, but there political engagement raised gender awareness and offered new roles. The aims of women writers diverged from those of male revolutionaries and they began to articulate the gender + specific discourse of emancipation that included calls for more female.s educational and professional opportunities. Thus, a general politicalization helped produce a gender + conscious politicalization and the means to peruse feminist.s goals, including original organizational expertise and media experience.

Women has been participating, socially, politically and economically to keep their communities alive. %ll women in %fghanistan have been contributing in development in all sectors. #ut women in the Taliban period were restricted toward few jobs. They were banned in police, driving and also from many jobs where seclusion was considered utmost important 0E)$"%1 Enited )ations $pecial "issions to %fghanistan addressed various issues relating to women and girl.s discriminatory decisions were negotiated. It was emphasized that women community should be assigned the role relating to them, and conducted efforts for them to be necessary for reconstruction and development. 0%bi rafeh lina, ;>>81 *onflict in %fghanistan negatively effected women. They also have been experiencing high level of gender biases- the violence against women has been increasing. The long testing conflict in %fghanistan has badly effected both men and women which has led to women confidence and decision making power deteriorated. !espite of all reasons, the culture of violence prospered. The history reveals that women rights in %fghanistan are highly politicized. The reforms in all periods were artificially imposed= and all the times these reforms met negatively, because reforms were imported and artificially imposed western norms on %nd women for the women emancipation leading towards modernization. $imilar attempts were also made by the rulers followed, which were resisted. 03ann etaal, ;>>81 The article diagnoses about women participation model in decision making. The model describes and elaborates that participation of women in decision making is important in

domestic affairs, as well as developmental aspects. Women respondents and stakeholders are necessary for data base, with functional relationship between options and impacts of certain policies affecting the future of women community. Women citizen are potential beneficiaries of proposed planning measures in any developing country. The three step model include5. ;. B. planning and value formulation regarding women participation in decision making process. The second step regarding the women participation is means identification. It means that means for fulfillment of objective is important. The third step is effectualization and policy planning implementation.

It is concluded that three steps procedure offers a limited but promising future for democratizing policy making in the developing countries. $ima $amar, 0;>>;1 highlights in her article which is divided into different era. The first era is the period of early history of %fghanistan in ;>th century. $econd period the "ojahideen era in %fghanistan. "ojahideen rejected the reforms by $oviet Enion. They initiated reforms bringing about numerous changes in form of victimization of women community. The "ujahideen.s imposed many restrictions on women freedom. The number of risks multiplied with the introduction of reforms by "ujahideen. #ut the urban women in @abul worked with continuity and zeal. T e t ird era is t e Tali#an $eriod% T e se"erely restricted women freedom and enforced $olicies w ic were #ased u$on ort odo& norms of a culture% I am #orn to li"e ' not to e&ist Putting t e anti'se&ual arassment #ill into $ractice

)ajma @han HThe canvas of the universe is more colourful because of womanI goes an Erdu proverb. $cholars and activists always praise women and use them as analogies for nature and beauty. This world could not be complete if women did not exist, indeed all the glamour and charisma of the universe is because of the presence of this delicate gender. #ut since I grew up I found that these sentiments were mere words. Avery passing day electronic and print media show us the brutality and cruelty of male dominated society. !espite all the materialist achievements I am seeking the answer to one &uery- as human society attained enough moral courage and is it ready to give e&ual rights to the womenJ #ut this &uestion remains unanswered when I look around and see the double standards of this hypocrite society. Women are still being treated as a commodity and personal possession by males. They still feel very insecure while performing their professional tasks at work place. "uhammad %nwar, /)/ ead of %dministration, added that H2ike all other developing countries (akistani society remains a stronghold of patriarchal norms, where women are taken to be a personal commodity of men. It is considered that woman has only one role+ to keep herself within the four walls of the house and to take care of the children and to bring comfort to her husband. This society hardly accepts a woman who works outside her home and runs her economical affairs by herselfI. 4laf @ellerhoff, 3esident 3epresentative, /)/ (akistan, strongly supported )ajma @han's argument and appreciated her initiative in conducting this workshop. The ,erman said, H%lthough civil society has made a long struggle against dictatorship and discriminatory laws against women in (akistan, the effects of such anti+women policies are still present in society.I *onse&uently, as a foreign observer, he highly values the efforts of the (akistani government for an improvement of the situation of women in the country. e further added that HIt is totally a misconception that women in the West do not suffer from sexual harassment at work place. #ut better enforcement of law and order helps to control such kind of incidents in western societies. e appreciated the present government's legislation for protection of women from sexual harassment at work place. #eing a 3esident 3epresentative, he recommended adopting the code of conduct of this law for the /)/ (akistan office. %t the end of the workshop @ellerhoff intiated the formation of a committee of three members, as prescribed by the law, for dealing of any violation of women's rights and for dealing with

complaints of sexual harassment, as per the ;>5> %ct. Thus, (akistani laws were immediately put into practice and as the /)/ manager always emphasises-