Women's Societal Roles

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, women in most of the world dealt with huge changes. They were able to gain access to education as well as the right to vote. Birth rates were even reduced due to the new freedom that women were given. It can be debated that many societal roles of men began to slow down with the rise of women. This caused a vast change for the human condition. In some cases, men negatively reacted towards the new rights women were given. Some places made the economic position of women worse. Occasionally, needs for women were ignored, which called for large regional variation in the lives of women. In 1965, the United Nations began developing special “years” for women (Stearns, 1998, p. 372). With every …show more content…
In the 1970’s, the total fertility rate in Central America was moderately high. There was an average of four births per woman. This high number of births resulted in the use of birth control. Some say, “The only reason you want to use birth control is so you can go with other men.” (Stearns, 1998, p. 375). Using birth control was seen as a sin in the eyes of the church and women would be denied Holy Communion at mass if they had confessed to taking the pill. In taking the pill, women have more control over the size of the family. Families would be able to be planned, because of the pill. One woman stated, “family planning is very important because my husband does not earn big wages.” (Stearns, 1998, p. 375). This same woman had secretly been taking contraceptives behind her husband’s back. He wanted to have a son, but she knew that they would not be able to provide for a bigger family. She was able to take the contraceptives, because of the rights she was given as a woman, regardless of what her husband wanted. Having less children also meant having a better chance at an education. The mother in this situation was one of several children, which resulted in her being unable become educated. She did not want the same fate for her family; therefore, she saw taking birth control as helping the children that she already had become …show more content…
She has talked about the influence of Western ideas from her own education and what she has seen in Hollywood films. She has also pulled data from polls and evaluated traditional practices, where she compares with Western ideas. A poll taken in January 1994 stated, “74% of women and an almost equal proportion of men believe that arranged marriages are more likely to succeed than love marriages.” (Stearns, 1998, p. 380). Arranged marriages are seen to withstand more issues, because there are less ties between the husband and wife. They are together for mutual benefit. They do not have to worry about falling out of “love” with one another, because that is not why they agreed on the marriage. Many feminists, socialists, and other radicals see arranged marriages as one of the main reasons for women’s oppression in India. This view of oppression originates from the West. Kishwar sees arranged marriages as the best way, because they last longer, love is not of high regard, and as following