The Status of Indian Women Essay

The sexualisation of women in advertising has become a very prominent and controversial issue in today’s society. Many brands, products and campaigns we are presented with portray women as being available and willing sexual objects, who exist to cater to the male gender. Gucci is one such brand that does this, focusing on emphasizing the sexual appeal of the female gender in order to sell their products, because as advertisers know: ‘sex sells.’ This new cultural shift can however, be seen as politically regressive for women, as the ideology it brings negatively impacts how women are viewed by society and how they view themselves.

Upper caste women may undergo dramatically different experiences than lower caste women. For example, lower caste women do not practice sati, because it is mostly prevalent among upper caste women. Thus, they may not comprehend how sati may function as a tool of control of female sexuality. On the other hand, upper caste women may not comprehend the experiences of widow-remarriage as practiced by lower caste women. Granted that, Mohanty makes a great point by asserting that it is impossible to analyze and treat Indian women as an ahistorical and monolithic group of people. Indian women are heterogeneous, and significant attention must be given to the components of race, class, imperialism. Furthermore, given their background, many of Western feminists in India were supporters of the colonial government and saw themselves as agents of the civilizing mission. They believed that Indian women were incapable of speaking for themselves, and thus were also incapable of liberating themselves. They disregarded that Indian women were victims of both British imperialism and the patriarchal Indian society, and thus the oppression they faced greatly differed from that of Western women. If anything, western women participated in their

use of fighting for a vote if we have not got a country to vote in?"

The women in India I think were treated with less respect and were not able to do anything

As a result of these reviews, the ongoing reconstruction of the social status and roles of Hindu women has brought about many new changes in Hinduism. Some of these changes include changes in education, health measures, problems of early marriages, the positions of widows, and the representation of women in governing bodies (Desai, et al., 1995). For example, within Hinduism now,

Beginning in the Vedic period around 1700 BCE, women living in Indian society have been documented as subordinate to men in all aspects of life. Throughout Medieval India and up until 19th century women endured a lifestyle of limited freedom. This lack of freedom stemmed from the strict caste system rules about women and the overall male-dominated world India accepted for so long. Traditional society was not a welcoming place for girls, as they endured a confined lifestyle as homemakers. Women were not permitted to have an education, work, choose their own marriages or plan out their own life. However, at the turn of

"Realness" defined by the dictionary definition is "existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious" but taking it a step further and defining it in the drag world, realness "commonly refers to the ability to “blend” or “pass” as the opposite sex." The entirety of Janet Mock 's Redefining Realness is exactly that, to take her own definition of the word and use it as a non-conformative mean to achieve self-actualization, to instead be real to herself rather than for anyone else 's sake. Mock, through the struggle told in her own written story redefines a word with a variance of definitions in multiple communities, to not define her but be defined by her, so that rather than "blend" or "pass" she instead becomes the black woman she had truly been. Although her story stands to show her fight for the belief "one is not born, but rather becomes a woman" (171) the book itself acts as a beacon to all whom can sympathize or identify with her struggle, she takes her characterization of what it means to be real and shares it with both the readers who share her aspects and those looking to understand them.

“For much, if not all, of human history, women have been little more than property — subjected by men, bought and sold (in the name of “marriage”) and viewed as not much more than vessels for procreation.”(Faraj) “For much, if not all, of human history, women have been little more than property — subjected by men, bought and sold (in the name of “marriage”) and viewed as not much more than vessels for procreation.”(Faraj) Although both of these statements were very true there has been a lot of progress made since that period of time. Women are no longer reliant on men for anything but reproduction. They are capable of making their own money, having their own household and property, and having the same rights as men in most

Traditionally, an Indian woman had only four roles and those were; Her role as a daughter, wife, sister, and lastly, a mother. The women in today’s time however are experiencing far reaching changes and are entering into new fields that were unknown to them. They are actively participating in social, economic and political activities. Unlike the older times, women today have received higher education.

From the Vedic Age and Epic Age, where women were treated as social equals, to the Age of Buddhism, which was the most peaceful time for women in India’s past, women were once the ones that were looked up to (Chaudhury, 16-27). The Vedic Age was a period in India’s past where women and men were counterparts, they were treated as equals. Women were cultured, had an education, and had a social status that mattered. Marriage at this time was not a mandatory event, and also were allowed to have any job they wanted, even joining the military (Chaudhury, 18-29).

disappeared together with the bhikkhu sangha, with the invasion of Turkish Muslim through Indian land in that period.

An often controversial issue within politics is how woman are viewed and treated in the Hindu religion. The role of woman in Hinduism is often disputed and positions range from quite reasonable to highly antagonistic. An often overlooked aspect is that, Hinduism is more of a way of life then a Religion. This is because Hinduism requires that we see the same reality in all the diversity of creation; that we see the same Self in all beings. Hindu women within this religion would view themselves as an important part of the family, but this is not shown through the contents of the Manusmriti. The Manusmriti directly translated is “Laws of Manu,” or “Institutions of Manu,” is regarded as the foundational

Indian culture before the transformation of globalization was a male dominated society with very little respect or regard for females. According to India’s constitution, women are legal citizens of the country and have equal rights with men (Indian Parliament), however due to lack of acceptance from the male dominated society; Indian women have suffered immensely prior to globalization (Tripod, n.d.). Indian culture after the transformation of globalization has had an innervation of mass media, most prominent being satellite television bringing images and dialogue from countless other cultures. This global influence has started to turn the tables in the marked sexist roles in Indian culture prior to globalization.

In the 1800’s a women was suppose to have four things Piety, Purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. These principles shaped the “Cult of True Womanhood” an idea that women were to be seen but not heard. Women had no say when it came to politics, they couldn’t own property, they were not allowed to do many jobs, and they couldn’t even speak in front of men. They had the duty to be a mother and raise their children but even thought they had this responsibility it was the husband who had the complete control and guardianship of the children. Because of these ideas it was very difficult for change to happen. When women started to receive more education they began to ask questions about why they were being denied these rights, which began the

Women's Status in Islam In Islam, women and men are equal in terms of their relationship with Allah. It can be clearly seen that Allah has created men and women differently, this is so that they may fulfil different purposes in life. It is not a question of the superiority of one gender over another, rather it is a matter of role differentiation. Islam teaches that men and women complement one another and are both equally important.