The New Waves Of Feminism

Women’s rights in Iran or the Middle East has always been an arguable issue. Although there rights have been changed throughout the centuries they were never really compared equal to men or noone really accepted them. Specially for women in Iran, they barely had any rights in culture, marriage or other aspects of their lives. In the following essay you will read about the everday lives of Middle Eastern women.

Feminism can have a different meaning depending on who you are and what time of history you are speaking of. Most people think of the second-wave of feminism in the 20th century when women fought for their rights for equality not just in the workplace but also their right to vote. The movement for gender equality was originally viewed as a great effort by women for women. Today feminism is a subtitle of equality. Giving us the new definition of feminism called third-wave feminism or gender equality.

Decades following the Seneca Falls Convention, one of the very first advocacies for women’s rights, the Second-wave feminism in the 1960s saw itself as a movement that achieved great success in terms of women’s social, economic, and political rights. The Women’s Rights Movement that began in the sixties, in comparison to the first-wave feminism in the 19th century—whereas many activists focused on only women’s suffrage—the second-wave feminism dealt with a broader range of issues. From education, the patriarchal system, sexual rights, and the workforce, to advocating for reproductive rights and abortion, the Second-wave feminism allowed women to create more spaces for themselves. Yet, amidst the growing feminist movement, in spite of it being more inclusive to women of color and other minority groups in comparison to the first-wave, the second-wave feminism continued to see white middle-class women as the forefront of feminism. The second-wave of feminism brought both good and bad to the table. While they were able to pass things such as the Equal Pay Act and ensured protection in Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act, the movement was also flawed to the extent in which they failed to address intersectionality—an understanding of how oppressions of race, gender, class, and sexuality were issues not isolated from one another—and fell short in including the voices of minority women in movements such as the Black and Chicana feminism.

Throughout the first-wave feminist movement, it was a goal of feminists to have laws that sought to subordinate women to men overturned. The marital exemption to rape is just one example of a law at the time that feminists viewed to subject women to the sexual desires of men. During the Victorian Era, when first-wave feminism emerged, conversations about sex in general were taboo, and the discussion of sex by a woman in a public space was especially taboo. However, this did not stop first wave feminist activists from campaigning for these rights. The campaigns against marital rape focused on a woman’s right to control sex with their husband, and they argued for self ownership over their own bodies (Hasday, 2000, p. 1417). Prominent feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton made arguments that marriage did not guarantee that a husband could have sex with his wife under all circumstances. At a temperance convention, she warned of the consequences of having sex with a husband who is an alcoholic, advising to “live with him as a friend...but for woman’s sake, be not his wife” (Hasday, 2000, p. 1418). There were qualities in a man that the women did not want to procreate with, and to ensure the safety of their children, they wanted protection against having sex with certain types of men. One example of this is seen in the disdain of the alcoholic husband – to live with him, be his friend, but never to have sex or reproduce with him. Stanton was firm in the belief that “woman’s

This was an important step in engaging women in the political process, and establishing their role in public life. Not only did this increase the power available to women, but it also meant more women were likely to participate in discussions of social and political issues more broadly. This challenged the traditional archetype of what it meant to be a woman in Iranian society, and led to a less restrictive set of expectations for the appropriate behavior of women. As such, it strengthened the role of women in political discourse, and also meant women’s issues were better vocalized and more likely to be addressed in

Women are not helpless creatures in a world full of challenges. They are considered role models of families, businesses, and social movements. They are the pillars of feminism. Women are now holders and decision makers of recognized networks, strong figures in the senate and political institutions. However, women are not decision makers in all nations. In specific societies where women empowerment is overruled, there is no major feminist movement prevalent. The theory of an existing hope of unity between women is minimal, but as the idea of “empowerment” unfolds, it inspires women to support their gender. Females have started to fight as one against social misconceptions, labor inequality, and political limitations. It is the concept of women

Betty Friedan, feminist author of The Feminine Mystique, wrote, "The problem lay buried, unspoken for many years in the minds of…women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century… Each suburban housewife struggled with it alone… she was afraid to even ask of herself the silent question – ‘Is this all?’” Authors such as Betty Friedan wrote about their struggles in novels and articles in the early 1960s which were popularized in the late 1960s which led to the start of a new revolution – the second wave of feminism. The Canadian second wave of feminism started in 1967, with many feminists rising up and forming groups and organizations to bring awareness to their issues. This caused a huge uproar within society, women all over the nation found a voice and spoke up about their issues, leading to wide-media coverage and to changes in society, politics, the economy, and much more. The suffragist movement led to huge changes within society in the 1980s, thus changed life for women and changed life for the rest of Canada by reshaping the social structure.

“You cannot be a humanist unless you are a feminist. You either advocate equality for all or you are a misanthrope” (Michael A. Sherlock). From women’s suffrage to abortion laws feminism has evolved with contemporary battles and a variety of approaches. The

Women's rights in Iran have for many years been a very controversial and heated topic. The way women live and are viewed by men in Iran has changed in so many ways throughout the end of the twentieth century leading into current day. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last Shah of Iran and throughout his attempt to westernize his country he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, on February 11th, 1979.[1] Religious rulers took over and influenced the Sharia Law, which are decisions on how to live life by studying religious texts. Ever since this change women have faced a struggle to survive in harsh conditions every day of their lives. Inequality between Iranian men and women is a major

Sisters, daughters, mothers, wives — women make up half the world’s population, and their rights or lack thereof have dominated much of the political debate in the past hundred years. Whether it be suffrage, freedom from sexual violence, corporate equity and fair wages, abortion, or access to education, every nation has to grapple with freedom and equality in the arena of gender. The 20th century and early years the 21st have seen enormous advancements for women in the west, but stagnation in much of the Middle East and Africa. Iran, in particular, has implemented policies that have regressed the rights of women, while the United Kingdom has achieved steady legal egalitarianism and social progress.

Feminism is known to be the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men (dictionary.com). In order for there to be a demand for equality there must be depletion in equality. The rights of women were fought for many years ago, but is still a continuous fight today. This is why, although women obtained general rights some time ago, feminism is still very much alive today, because equality as a whole has not been obtained. What is this so called separation that we see still today? The separation of men and women has gone on for many years now. Back in the 1900’s Women were able to have some of the same rights as men, but after more than 100 years women and men still aren’t seen as equal, because

In today’s vast, democracy-fueled world, the concept of feminism has gradually taken on a significant role when it comes to modernity. The advocacy for equality of all women proves effective and boasts an undying faithfulness from women everywhere. Within the boundaries of the United States of America, feminism has grown since the establishment of the nation and continues to grow today, an issue that has especially risen in light of the recent election. However, beyond this great nation’s borders, feminism does not die in even the slightest way. Women all over the world are fighting for their equality and right to complete and total fairness. Despite the worldwide movement, it’s often overshadowed by other issues going on. Iran, the focus of Jasmin Darznik’s The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life, played (and continues to play) host to perhaps one of the greatest flawed societies when it comes to feminism. Through her powerful, poignant memoir, Darznik brings us into the midst of a particular lifestyle and the reality behind treatment of women in Iranian society.

When referring to the history of feminism in the manner of the first, second, or third wave, one is undermining the experiences that were ongoing during, in middle of, and before those waves that history defines. What ideologies of oppression were being spoken of to raise awareness and whose experience was being excluded/diminished? The articulation of feminism in using the metaphor of waves to describe how the ideologies peaked and rescinded, is incorrect because it focuses only on the voices of those who were able to bring their problems to the surface and excludes those who had a different experience or may have brought awareness in a quieter manner. There are many feminisms and each interpretation is defined by the collective oppression, rather than looking at the situation in an individual perception, which is what creates disagreements and division between feminists. Many definitions of feminism, feminisms, exist simultaneously because it is evolving as fast (or, well, as slow) as the world is changing and if one group of people are to speak of others experience of oppression (or lack of) in place of them, the result can be the glossing over of experiences and therefore, undermine experiences of others.

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.

In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century, finally led to their goal after 72 years of protesting. The Nineteenth Amendment, which secured the rights for women to vote finally passed in 1920. This grand victory brought other reforms along, including reforms in the educational system,