FEMINISM AND FEMINIST MOVEMENTS

INSTRUCTOR:
ABDUL HANAN SAMI
 FEMINISM
• The belief that women should have equal rights to men.

• Seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and

employment.
• A collection of movements and ideologies establishing and defending
– Political

– Socio-Economic rights for women

– Women Suffrage (the right to vote in political elections).

 History of Feminism

• Charles Fourier(1837) is credited with having coined the word feminism.

• Dependence:
 FEMINIST THEORY
• A major branch within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic lens,
and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience toward
that of women.
• Aims to interrogate inequalities and inequities along the intersectional
lines of ability, class, gender, race, sex, and sexuality.
 Basic Feminist Ideas
• Working to increase equality.

• Expanding human choice: For example, if a woman wants to be a

mechanic, she should have the right and opportunity to do so.
• Eliminating gender stratification: Feminists oppose laws and cultural
norms that limit income, educational and job opportunities for women.
• Ending sexual violence & promoting sexual freedom.
 Types of Feminism
• Radical Feminism

• Liberal Feminism
• Socialist Feminism
 Radical Feminism
• Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical
reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social
and economic contexts.
• Radical feminists view social relations in terms of power dynamics.
• Arose within the second wave in the 1960s.

• Radical feminists seek to abolish patriarchy by challenging existing social

norms and institutions, rather than through a purely political process.
 Liberal Feminism
• It aims to achieve equal legal, political, and social rights for women.

• It wishes to bring women equality into all public institution and to extend
the creation of knowledge so that women’s issues can no longer be
ignored.
 Marxist and Socialist Feminism
• Marxism recognizes that women are oppressed, and attributes the
oppression to the capitalist/private property system.
• They insist that the only way to end the oppression of women is to
overthrow the capitalist system.
• Socialist feminism is the result of Marxism meeting radical feminism.
 FEMINIST MOVEMENT
• Christine de Pizan: Generally considered the first feminist writer; wrote in the

medieval period.

• In the 1700’s women propagated the significance of women’s education.

• 1785: The first scientific Society for Women established in Middle berg, Dutch, and

Republic.

• 1791: “ Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen”

• The “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” (1789) was paraphrased.

• It was the French revolution’s central document.

• 1792: Mary Wollstonecraft: “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”.

 West/ Modern Feminist Movements

• The modern feminist movement emerged from the west.

• A member of men as well as women contributed to the cause of
improving women’s status in the society, in the political, economic, and
social spheres.
• All societies were patriarchal, male dominated, where women were
generally oppressed and home bound.
• Women were denied the right to franchise, to go for education, and
profession.
• Woman was treated as a second rate citizen with limited or no ability, little
or lower grade intelligence and non-trustable skill.
 19th century Reform Movement
• A landmark in the history of women liberation.

• 1848- New York: The first Women’s Rights Convention

• J .S. Mill wrote “The Subjection of Women” in the mid 1800s, influenced by
his wife Harriet Taylor.
• Emmeline Pankhurst formed WSPU/Women’s Social & Political Union.

• Emma Goldman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dame Ethel Mary Smyth, and
Margaret Sanger were among the 19th century feminists.
• In the East, Qasim Amin an Egyptian jurist is known as the Father of Egyptian
feminist movement. In 1899, he wrote “Women’s Liberation” and proved to
be a very influential writer (Tahrir ul Mar’a).
• Woman suffrage movement & its ultimate success brought about major
changes in terms of women’s status as well as their self- perceptions and vision.
• The First World War was also a turning point. Many women who never worked
outside home started working. But the end of war meant joblessness for many
women. In piece time, the jobs were to be left for the soldiers returning home.
Still many women carried on with nursing, farming, blue collared jobs & other
traditional occupations. At the same time, during the world war many women
entered occupations that used to be restricted to men alone e.g. mechanical
work.
• In many communist & socialist countries women were bought at par with men
in many regards.
• Feminist movement saw tough times and discouragement in countries like
Germany or Italy, in the early 20th country.
 FIRST WAVE OF FEMINISM
• Driven by combination of social and economic forces.

• The 1st organized “feminists” political activism involved campaigns for

VOTE and EQUALITY.
 Significant Incidents
• Russia: In 1913 women observed their first International Women's Day on
the last Sunday in February.

• England: In 1918 Marie Stopes, who believed in equality in marriage and

the importance of women's sexual desire, published “Married Love” that was
one of the 25 most influential books of the previous 50 years.
• Germany: in 1919 granted women the right to vote.

• England (1919)- Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the
House of Commons.

• China: The first female students were accepted in Peking University, soon
followed by universities all over China.
 SECOND WAVE OF FEMINISM
• A remarkable event- End of Patriarchy.

• Suddenly women became more active in politics.

• Demanded and won the right to education, to a career, to an easy divorce
if they desire.
• Women had a right to vote whom they want to.
 Significant Incidents
• 1966: Twenty-eight women, among them Betty Friedan, founded the
National Organization for Women (NOW).
• 1969: The American radical organization Redstockings organized.

• 1973: The American National Black Feminist Organization was formed.

• 1977: the Canadian Human Rights Act was passed, prohibiting
discrimination based on gender.
• 1980: The second wave began in the 1980s in Turkey and in Israel.
 THIRD WAVE OF FEMINISM
• Described as a sudden Representation of Women at All levels of
Government.
• Deals with issues which appear to limit or oppress women.

• Gender violence became a central issue for third wave feminists.

 Significant Incidents
• 1994: The Gender Equity in Education Act became law in the U.S. It
banned sex-role stereotyping and gender discrimination in the classroom.
• 1994: The Violence Against Women Act became law in the U.S

• 1995: The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in China.

• 2007: The Gender Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2006 came into effect
in the United Kingdom.
• 2008: Norway requires all companies to have at least forty percent women
on their boards.
 IMPORTANCE OF THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT
• Feminist movements work to change women's condition and women's
position.
• In addition to advocating for women's access to their immediate needs,
the feminist movement works to dismantle the root causes of inequality
that force women into subordinate roles in society.
 FEMINIST EFFECTS ON SOCIETY
• Feminism has provided Western women with increased educational
opportunities, the right to vote, protections against workplace
discrimination, and the right to make personal decisions about pregnancy.
• In some communities, feminism has also succeeded in challenging
pervasive cultural norms about women.