Women\'s Role Women Have Always

Women's Role

Women have always been treated as being lesser than men, in any field, anywhere at all in the world. Within different religions, too, there is a lot of differentiation and discrimination between the various roles played by men as against the roles played by women. Take the example of Christianity, for one. According to Macarthur Junior, John, in an article written by him in March 2003, the feminist movement in America has had the result of assaulting and changing the traditional roles that women have been assuming for centuries and what has happened is that women are now in the middle of a Revolution of sorts. In yesteryears, women were extremely content to be a good wife, and a good mother, and their only source of joy and delight were their husbands and their children. (Women's Roles)

However, today, women are definitely more interested in getting their joy out of working out of the home, and enjoying the high pay that they earn from their jobs. The traditional sexual morality and the norms that were generally expected of women are now being ignored, and in its place there is the new role of women wherein they behave more as aggressors than of peacemakers. They have, in short, become more dominating, and the result is that they are today 'promiscuous', and the meek and docile women of yesterday have today become hostile, self-aggressive, and demanding of their rights. All this also has the inevitable result of the rise of divorces and separations, with women more often initiating the proceedings, rather than the man, as was traditionally done, and only for the direst of reasons. Now, divorce is initiated at the mere drop of a hat. (Women's Roles)

The very issue of Women's Liberation has caused a whole lot of confusion and irritation in the minds of the Christians of today, wherein the traditional roles that were being played by women are now being discarded in favor of more equality and more independence. The fact is that women in Christianity in the pagan times were never treated as being better than a mere chattel, and it was only in later years that women found a voice for themselves. In fact, the Bible praises and even exhorts those women in the religion who actually managed to find fulfillment in playing out their roles. Some examples of this are: Hannah, I Samuel 1-2 played out her role within the family with great success and was commended for it, Miriam, played her role as a Prophetess according to Exodus 15:20 and Deborah became famous and great by becoming a Judge, as well as a poet, in Judges 5. In Christianity, what is even more surprising is the fact that the religion states that it does not believe in the distinction s and the differentiations between the two sexes, as far as salvation and one's position before God are concerned. Galatians 3:28 states this very clearly: "there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Should Christians support Women's Liberation Movements?)

Women also played a prominent and important role in early Church, and the Bible prescribes certain norms for the Christian home and family, and the men and women who profess the religion are expected to follow these norms, and this is one of the most important norms: within the Christian home, the man is the head of the woman, and woman was in fact created for the man, and not vice versa. Women are expected to be subservient to their husbands, as they would be to the Lord, and men are also expected to love their wives as they would love the Church and the Lord. Therefore, though the wife is not at all lesser important than the man according to the Church, but at the same time, she is expected to follow her husband's advice and not voice her own opinions, as the man is the head of the woman, and therefore, she will always be inferior to man. (Should Christians support Women's Liberation Movements?)

In Islam, the role and the position of women in theory, that is, according to the Quran and the Haddiths, or the sayings of the Prophets, is inordinately different form the traditional roles played by women in real life, according to Zeiba Shorish-Shamley. The author states that it is not the numerous Islamic ideologies that are responsible for the determination of the position of women, but the Pre-Islamic patriarchic ideologies that were found in a few select Islamic societies, that were responsible for the present role played by women in Islamic society. Compounded by a basic lack of education as well as a lack of understanding of the power of women, the role of women is a rather dismal one. In theory that is according to the Holy Quran both men and women have equal roles of importance in Islamic society, especially in the idea of the creation of Human Beings. (Women's Position, Role, and Rights in Islam)

According to the Quran, Sura 4, Verse 1, the Lord created, with like nature, a Mate, from which he created countless other men as well as women. This shows that men and women were supposedly created by Allah form the same source, and as equals. Therefore, men and women are to be considered as equals, and women are also to be granted a status that is similar in stature to the spiritual status that is accorded to some men. Were women to be forgiving, and tolerant, and humble, and devoted and patient and constant, and virtuous, then Allah would grant them forgiveness and also offer them great rewards in the future. In addition, in Islam, both men and women are equal in their various obligations to Allah, and nowhere are women treated as less responsible.

In Islam as far as women's role in education is concerned both men and women are expected to obtain and acquire knowledge and education, and this is actually a duty that they are expected to perform. Men are also exhorted to see to it that they teach their daughters the basics of education, at the very least; in fact, it is when a father educates his girl child that he would be allowed to enter Paradise when the time comes. One example of a well-educated and knowledgeable woman in Islam is that of Ayisha, the wife of the Prophet, who was known for her phenomenal memory and knowledge. In fact, it is often said that the Prophet would advise his people to go to his wife for advice. In the Islamic society of yesteryears, known as the Pre-Islamic Era, women were even denied the basic rights to existence. For example, when a girl child was born, especially in certain Arab countries, the practice of female infanticide would be carried out, wherein the newborn baby girl would be put to death. With the advent of Islam, however, the first and foremost improvement that was brought in for the women of the religion was to grant them the basic right to life, and those people who would reject their female child would be considered to be murderers and criminals. This put a stop to this inhumane practice, and women were at the very least allowed to live their lives. (Women's Position, Role, and Rights in Islam)

In marriage, women and men are granted equality, for the Quran states that the joining of a man and a woman is like the sharing of two halves of society. A woman cannot be forced into marrying a person that she does not like, and vice versa. The basic objectives of marriage, as outlined by the Quran, are those of love, mercy, justice, sharing, and a spiritual harmony. The role that the woman is expected to play within the family is also given great importance in the Quran, and the main reason for this is because of the fact that women are seen as the bringers up of the next generation of individuals, and unless they are brought up properly, there would not be a good future for them. The rule that allows men to marry more than two or even three times and maintain all of these women as one single family was initially meant for the purpose of saving orphaned and abandoned women, and this was a rule that many women profited by, because they found a shelter as well as a provider or themselves and for their children. However, this rule was later corrupted, and men saw fit to marry as many women as they chose, without restrictions.

However, the rule that the man must treat all his wives equally is followed to some extent, and this makes it a great advantage to those destitute women who have been taken in by strange men. Therefore, it can be stated that there is a provision for equality for men and women in Islam, but due to corrupt practices, this was not followed appropriately, and women are not often given the freedom and equality that has been proscribed within their religion. Islamic women are now restricted from most activities, and their rights have been steadily decreasing. Her social and political as well as economic rights are all being violated everyday by unscrupulous men who have corrupted the very religion to their own advantage, and today, especially in most Arab countries, woman has become 'Awarah', or the very subject of concealment, wherein her public presence is banned; where even her very voice, must not be heard in public. (Women's Position, Role, and Rights in Islam)

In India, there are only 960 women to 1000 men, a figure that when compared to the rest of the world, especially developed countries, which shows 105 women to 100 men, due to better health care for women, is quite miserable. It is in India that women are often considered to be burdens on their families, and the main reason for this is the 'dowry system', wherein the bride, at the time of marriage, is expected to bring a large amount of jewelry and other riches to her husband's house. On the other hand, a boy is considered to be a veritable gift from God, and the reason for this is that a boy would share in the financial burden of the family, and go out to work in the agricultural fields, or elsewhere, thus contributing to the family income. A girl is nothing but a burden, according to the economically backward classes, and more often than not, a woman is blamed and ostracized for having given birth to a girl child. (Gender Equality) recent report from the UN states that more than 50 million girls as well as women were in fact missing from the population of Hindus in India, and the reason for this was systematic discrimination against women, that often culminated in the forced abortion of female fetuses. When the woman attains adulthood, and her father is not able to fulfill his promise of dowry, then she will be, most often than not, be burnt, and this custom is prevalent even today in many rural areas, and more than 5,000 women are burnt every year in a most gruesome manner just because they were not able to bring enough dowry to their bridal homes. If the wife was found to be unfaithful, then the husband was allowed to punish her as he saw fit. This punishment would sometimes be as simple as a curse; it would sometimes be a cutting off of her ears or her nose or even her genitalia. The definition of adultery was, amazingly, a simple conversation with another man who was not related to the woman in any way, or the mere touch of a sleeve of a strange man. (Women in Hinduism)

It is sometimes said that the ancient Hindu Scriptures and the Vedas are actually nothing but a form of 'barbarism'. All the atrocious practices that were prevalent in the ancient times, in acts committed against women, have been outlined in great detail among these scriptures. It is within these pages that the ritualistic Sati, Child Marriage, the Dowry System, the female infanticide, and the human sacrifices are all explained clearly, and it was according to the instructions given within these pages that the men of yesteryears acted. A woman was mistreated and mercilessly tortured, for no reason other than that she had been born a woman. Men had scant respect for women, and though there are instances in history where a woman has braved the odds and succeeded in whatever her endeavors were, these examples are few and far between. Today, the rise and the success of Hindu women in their chosen fields, in India, have been against the tremendous odds against the female race in general. It is sometimes said that the rise of Hindu Fundamentalism under certain extremist organizations, like for example, the BJP, the RSS, the Bajrang Dal, and the Sangh Parivar has had the effect of further degrading the status of Hindu women in India, and it is said that these fundamentalist outfits are actually attempting to revive the ancient repulsive practices of Sati and female infanticide and the Dowry system. This would only bring women to a virtual standstill, and they would be more oppressed were these organizations to succeed in their attempts and efforts to bring back ancient Hindu practices to modern India. (Hindu Scriptural Sanction for the Crushing of Women)

The truth is that both Buddhism and Jainism were protest movements against the various unfair practices of Hinduism, especially in relation to women. However, the advent of these two religions had little or no impact on the status of women in India, and the reason for this may be that more emphasis was laid on the factor of asceticism, wherein women were expected to be severely ascetic in all their beliefs and practices. This was similar to the beliefs of the early Christian ascetics, and the teachings found in the old Essenes, and the Franciscans. Therefore, though Buddhism and Jainism opposed most of the horrible practices found in Hinduism, like for example, Sati, where a wife was actually burnt to death at the funeral pyre of her dead husband, women were still considered to be a real burden, and also a hindrance to real progress. The path to liberation was curtailed and prevented, by women, according to the belief of the Buddhist and Jain leaders. Thus, they too did not treat women as more then a burden and a hindrance, and though unfair practices were frowned upon, there were no fair practices either, within the religions, as far as women were concerned. (Hindu Scriptural Sanction for the Crushing of Women)