Women’s Rights

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Throughout the course of history, women’s roles in society have been ever changing. At one time, women were expected to fulfill certain roles and not others. Their struggle to expand their roles has been a controversial issue for as long as there has been reported history. The problem is that “the unspoken assumption is that women are different” (Chisholm).

Women’s roles in society were not even close to what they are today. In the past, women were viewed as property. They were characterized as subservient to men. If they had wealth through marriage or family, their role was to manage the household. If they did not have any wealth, their role was to be a maid or servant to those that did.

For those women who were fortunate enough to have enough money, could buy servants and manage them as if they were slaves. Their job was to be more of a manager, ensuring everything was done properly. Another role that women with wealth had, was as a planner. They were to plan parties and events that were to satisfy the requests of their husbands or other significant men in their lives. They spent time almost all of their time making sure that their home was close to perfect.

For those women who did not have any money, they ha to manage their own household and perform all the labor tasks themselves. “in the division of labor based on gender, women are generally assigned childcare and domestic duties” (Holt 262). They did not have time for any personal leisure time and often they had to work outside their household as servants in order to make a little extra money or, in some cases, in exchange for food. It was the women’s job to wash dishes and clothes for the men and prepare meals for the men. Throughout much of history, women not only made their own clothes, but also cloths for the men and children as well on top of everything else. Sometimes families would have just enough money to buy one servant that would only help with some of the tasks.

Other than being viewed as a servant or a maid, women also had the role of being a mother or wife. A woman’s primary goal in life was to marry a man and have kids shortly afterwards. For the wealthy families the children were viewed as a prestige symbol for the men. For the women without wealth, children were a way of guaranteed free labor. After the children were old enough, the woman’s job expanded from not only caring for them, but educating the children as well. During this time, motherhood was the highest of importance to women. If a woman did not become a mother, she was labeled as inadequate, a failure, or even seen to be abnormal. Single and married women who were unable to have children, were looked upon as second-class citizens and even pitied.

As the children were raised, the young boys were sent off to school to get a good education while the girls had to stay at home and continue to learn everyday household chores. Even from an early age, the girls had to care for their brothers and were seldom allowed to have playtime. As soon as the girls were old enough they would be married off to much older men as if they were some kind of property. They often were married in exchange for some type of money and/or goods.

Another problem with women’s rights in society was their voice in the church or government. Women were allowed to attend church, but often had to sit behind the men and sometimes in a different room. It was unheard of to ever take a suggestion from a woman. The home and the church were not the only places women had no say. Women were never allowed to make any type of political decision. They were not even allowed to vote. Women who spoke up were often beat in order to show them the consequences of speaking their voice.

Even though women were treated as subservient and as though they lacked intelligence, this was far from the truth. When wealthy women had time they would educate themselves and others as well as give advice. These women began to realize that they could live on their own and that they did not have any reason to be controlled my men anymore. “The fact is, women are in chains, and their servitude is all the more debasing because they do not realize it” (Susan B. Anthony). The wealthy women, because they had more free time, would teach the less fortunate about their status and beliefs. Women started to prove to men that they were self-sufficient. Many companies realized

that women could be a huge asset to their business. It was a proven fact that women were much more social able than men and were given traditionally male jobs. Even though women began to hold jobs outside the home, they still had did not have a say in anything.

Women’s goals were to educate other women to the possibilities of working outside of the home. They mentored and taught other