WOMEN

How the roles and status of women have changed in modern societies
Marriage is not necessarily a means of support or protection for women. More recently, in the 1980s and 1990s, it
has become common for many families to have two wage earners.
 From 1970-1993, the proportion of dual-earner couples increased from 39% to 61% of all married couples in the
United States.

There are increasing opportunities for women in various institutions, workplaces and marketplaces
 For example in traditional Korean society, women’s roles were confined to the home. Today, Korean women are
actively engaged in a wide variety of fields, including education, medicine, engineering, scholarship, the arts,
law, literature and sports.
 In the United States, the number of women in full-time jobs increased and there is significant growth in the
proportion of women in high-paid professions, like law and medicine.

While educational attainment of women has increased in general. Woman delay marriage in order not to cut short
their formal education.
Doing so traps women in a cycle of low education, high fertility and poverty. Even countries with strong cultural and
traditional values (with Islamic or religious cultures) have seen a sharp delay in childbearing practices and lower fertility.
While it was rare, in the past, to be single and childless, the average age for marriage is slowly increasing with wider
acceptance of education and family planning services.
o For example, some 1,500 non-formal schools for girls and women, set up under the late prime
minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto and President Zia ul-Haq, continue to function in rural areas.
o The total fertility rate (TFR) or average number of children born per woman declined from seven in
the 1970s to three in 2006 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Women’s suffrage in many countries

New Zealand – 1983
Britain – 1918
Soviet Union – 1917
France – 1944
Italy – 1945
China – 1947
India – 1949
Switzerland – 1971

Enhanced rights for women in general. Violations are publicised not as individual and cultural problems but as
violations of human rights.
 Marital rapes were legal until the 1980s when most states in the US eliminated, or at least limited, the spousal
exemption from rape. In 1976, Nebraska was the first state to abolish the Marital Rape Exemption.
 New Delhi brutal and fatal gang-rape of medical student in 2012 sparked off protests in the country over crime
against women, and a lot of soul-searching and national awakening against sexual harassment, women’s rights
and misogyny in India.

The availability of the contraceptive pill after 1960 meant that women faced greater freedom from child-care
responsibilities.

Ironically, standards of female beauty have become more stringent in recent years;
while some women do not elect to follow the dictates of the fashion industry, many do.
 Many point to the recent increase in sales of beauty products and service.
 In Korea, the number of plastic surgeons surged 400 per cent from 276 in 1990 to 1,102 in 2004. It has been
estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of women in Seoul have gone under the knife, and one poll
reported by the BBC in March 2015 put the figure at fifty per cent or higher for women in their twenties. Men,
by one account, make up fifteen per cent of the market, including a former President of the country, who
underwent double-eyelid surgery while in office. Statistics in this field are iffy because the industry is not
regulated and there are no official records.
 Beauty pageants also capture much worldwide attention. From America’s Favourite Pre-Teen to Miss Nude
World, America offers a plethora of beauty contests and competitions for females.

Nevertheless, media is increasingly being used to change or debunk sexist stereotypes of women and give them
greater recognition for who they are and what they can do.
 Ashley Graham was the first plus-sized model to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
issue which typically features tinier and tinier bikini-clad women. The women on its pages are starting to
diversify after a long push from women of all shapes and sizes to expand the narrow standards of beauty
embraced by the fashion and modelling industry.
 Social media has been able to organise and collaborate, sharing stories and strategies that challenge traditional
ideas of beauty. Dove, producer of beauty and haircare products encourages women to embrace their authentic
and unique selves regardless of shape, size and colour. A recent movement was to help little girls who did not
like their curly hair love their curls by showing them how others felt about theirs through a song and dance with
a refrain that went “Oh, I love it, love it….We all love our curls—our curls are perfect this way!”

Positive effects of the changing role of women in modern societies

Higher education and per capita income for women: Increasingly, women are being empowered to break out of their
poverty cycles with higher education and job choices. Married women are increasingly encouraged to work.
 In the US, in 2009, women held 49.9% of all nonfarm labour jobs and 51.5% of high-paying management and
professional paying positions.
 Married female labour force participation increased from 32.9 percent in 1960 to 61.1 per cent in 2001.

More choices are given to women in their jobs and life choices:
 They can choose not to work if they should not want to. Within less than a decade, the number of children
raised by stay-at-home moms has increased by 13 per cent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ivy League-
educated women are rebelling against the workforce.
 According to the commission’s study, 44 per cent of all jobs in the United States were held by women in 1873.
By 2003, that level of participation had risen slightly, to 47 per cent.
 Women increased their representation in all the natural science professions in the United States, especially
medical science, where they accounted for more than half of all employment in 2002, according to the report.
 When it comes to engineering, 10 per cent of the jobs in 1983 were held by women, according to the
commission. That figure rose to 14 per cent in 2002.
 Singapore appointed its first woman Speaker of Parliament, Halimah Yacob in 2013. She is known to have a
strong legal background, calm, collected and very well-respected by the House.

More legal rights at work: One of UK’s largest public sector union, Unison, promised to take the cases of tens of
thousands of women to employment tribunals if employers refuse to pay them the same as men.

More freedom and acceptance about marriage issues: Studies show that Thai women have a relatively high degree of
freedom regarding the timing of marriage and the choice of marital partner.

Negative effects of the changing role of women in modern societies

A rising divorce rate in more countries is partly due to changing perceptions about gender roles. Among married
couples the degree to which men exercise direct control over issues now wavers. This fundamental shift in social power
has resulted in unprecedented social consequences within marriages, families, the work place and more.
 In the United States, the number of divorces per 1,000 women age 15 years or older increased from 9.2 in
1960 to 18.0 in 2001, reaching a high of 22.8 in 1979.

An increased number of women in the workplace and women who delay childbirth until their thirties and beyond.
Many women believe that they can have it all—education, career, lifestyle, and playing the field, and a man waiting to
marry them when they are done. Many countries continue to witness falling birthrates not just because families delay
childbirth but because high-powered women are finding it increasingly difficult to find men of equal calibre to them to
marry.
 Birth rates in countries like Italy, Spain, Japan and Germany are dropping and in much of Eastern Europe as
well where levels are well below 1.5 births per woman.
 In Australia, the proportion of degree-educated women aged 25 to 34 rose from 37.7 per cent to 40.3 per cent,
according to the Bureau of Statistics, while for males the figure remained below 30 per cent, having risen only
0.5 per cent in 2012.

Eating disorders are much more common now.

 Anorexia – a disorder that affects women disproportionately – is twice as common as doctors once thought.
Changing social roles and expectations have caused confusion in many—both men and women. Products and
lifestyles sell a certain type of image or “right body” that will bring success, happiness and a better life. Such
unrealistic body image and food fears can also often stem from insecurity about roles and sexuality.

Problems of women in conservative societies

Poverty. 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in abject poverty are women; 600 million of the world’s women are
illiterate. Yet even the poorest and most marginalized women have the responsibility of raising children. Women with
no marketable skills can be forced into prostitution or surrogacy
 For example, the London-based pro-Tibet advocacy group, the Free Tibet Campaign, estimates there are 1,000
brothels in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Women were also plagued with the growing problem of cross-border
prostitution in the former Soviet states.
 Increasingly so, women from poor societies are renting their wombs to couples from developed nations for a
much cheaper price as compared to those in their own countries. “Hiring” a womb in USA would cost US$70,000
compared to hiring one in India for US$12,000. This puts them at risk of exploitation considering Indian women
earn only $5-7k in salary for 10 years of work.

Differences in political ideologies prevent women from getting all the help they need.
 In January 2013, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) failed to be reauthorized because of a politically and
ideologically divided Congress. The failure to protect Native women and provide critical resources and
protection for them means many vulnerable communities do not receive equal rights and protection under the
law. The failure of Congress to agree on the need to protect all women including lesbians, undocumented
immigrants and American Indian women living on reservations led to it not being reauthorized.

Infanticide.
 The traditional preference for boys has led to a widespread abuse of pre-natal scans in countries like India to
abort girls.

Women are perceived mainly in the context of child rearing and family caring.
High school drop-out rates and early marriage perpetuate the situation.
 For example, 77% of rural women in Egypt are still illiterate.
 In India, girls are often excluded from primary education by deeply rooted social customs. Independent sources
and educational experts place the overall literacy rate for girls and women at 12 per cent in Pakistan.

Fundamentalist interpretation of the religious texts and traditions

 A system of gender apartheid has turned women in some Middle East communities into virtual prisoners.
Abusers, cruelties or acts of violence against women in the Middle East are sometimes sanctioned in the name
of religion.

Culturally, social practices to women are still extremely unfair.

 “Honour” killings can even occur among immigrant populations in Western countries.

Politically, women are not represented.

 Women are still denied the vote in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Burundian women are not much
represented at the executive and judiciary level owing to the burden of tradition combined with a low level of
education.

Lack of social rights in the Middle East.

 Saudi Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also informally known as Hai’a,
employs “religious police” or Mutaween to enforce Sharia Law within the Islamic nation. They petrol streets
enforcing dress codes and separation of men and women and other behaviour believed to be commanded by
Islam. They are empowered to detain and berate offenders. A recent recording in Nakheel Mall in Riyadh shows
a woman being beaten in front of the shopping mall as people in the crowd call for the mutaween to stop
hitting her.
 In 2015, Farkhunda, a 27-year-old Afghan woman was publicly killed by a mob in Kabul for arguing with a mullah
who had falsely accused her of burning the Quran. She was mercilessly beaten and kicked, run over by a car,
dragged and her corpse burnt. The initial death sentences of some of the men arrested for the killing were later
reduced to as little as 10 years’ imprisonment. What had looked like a rare moment of justice for Afghan women
turned to deep disappointment and outrage.

How countries protect the rights of women

Increasing awareness among men and women of women’s rights under international conventions and national law.
 In 1980, China was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the most important international women’s rights document.

Increasing the proportion of women in decision-making in the economic, social and political spheres
 In terms of participation in the labour force, college education, managerial positions and incomes, Thailand
accorded most equality to women among the Asia Pacific region.
  In Bolivia, ACOBOL (Association of Women Councillors of Bolivia) was set up in 1999 to strengthen the
capacities of women standing for, and already elected to, municipal posts in areas like legislation and
equitable municipal administration. It also serves as a forum for women from all political parties to confront
challenges they face as women politicians.
 Strengthening worldwide efforts to end illiteracy among women and girls
Improving the conditions of women and girls living in poverty
 If a woman has equal access to health care and the paid workforce, she is better able to provide for her family.
As history has shown, an educated woman will have fewer children than an illiterate woman – and that helps
ease poverty too.

Implementation of policies to prevent, control and reduce violence against women and girls in the family, the
workplace and society
 In 1994, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which responded to the inadequacies of
state justice systems in dealing with violent crimes against women.

Establishment or strengthening of national institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

 In Japan, the legislature approved a basic law to promote equal participation in society for both males and
females. On April 1, 1999, a new law banned sexual discrimination in the workplace.
 In 2008, a historic law granting social security to unorganised workers in India was passed by both Houses of
Parliament. SEWA (the Self Employed Women's Association) played a major role in getting the law passed. The
law gives millions of unorganised workers in India access to health and maternity benefits, pensions and
disability cover and other benefits.

Establishment of special programs to meet the needs of refugee, displaced and migrant women and girls, and those
living in conflict areas
 In 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed a historic resolution on women, peace and security that
aimed to protect women in times of war while ensuring their participation in peace talks.
 Increasingly, there are non-governmental organizations, like the Refugee Women’s Network in the United
States, formed to protect women’s refugees.

SINGAPORE: The Rights and Protections for Women

The Women's Charter is a legislative act that was passed in 1961 to protect and advance the rights of women and
girls in Singapore. It is a wide-ranking charter that brings together the regulation of the relationship between
husband and wife and the relationship between parents and their children, termination of marriages and division
of matrimonial assets. Furthermore, it provides protection against family violence and penalty for offences
against women and girls.

The Women’s Charter applies to all men and women in Singapore, with the exception of persons married under
Muslim law who are excluded from parts of the Women’s Charter concerning divorce, division of matrimonial
assets and maintenance.