Women today Women in modern society

1.Mrs.B.Anitha 2. K.K.Sowjanya
In charge, Dept .of History Lecturer, Dept. of Mathematics
St.Joseph’s college for women(A),VSP St.Joseph’s college for women(A),VSP Email: [email protected] Email:[email protected]

Abstract: The role of woman in today’s world is significant in all dimensions .In the 21st century is proved that women can perform multitasking with great ease. There is an increase in highly skilled profession such as IPS,IAS,IES, engineers ,scientists ,technologists , auditors’, journalists, public relation officers ,pilots, Business executives, Entrepreneurs’, Architects, politicians, etc.
However even in our modern society in which men are still the strongest gender .We can’t forget that a women’s life is a lot more complicated than a men’s life.
This paper studies the opportunities available for women to develop socially as well as economically so that the status of woman can reach equal to the extent of men in this male dominated society.
OBJECTIVES:
1.To examine the Role of Women in ancient period.
2. To discuss the role of women in the society in comparison with modern women.
3. To compare the rights available to women in comparison with men.
METHODOLOGY:
For the submission of this paper secondary data was collected from magazines, books, journals, government reports and websites.
Very often when I was growing up, I would hear from many elder people that certain higher level jobs were not meant for women..I would hear such pronouncements even from those I thought were educated and mature enough to see that high responsibility did not depend on gender or sex. Thank god I had father who considered fact that women should work just as hard as men and women should be equal partners in society.
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY

In the Rig Vedic, Puranic and Buddhist times women were not the chattels that they were put them in the dark. During medieval period they enjoyed a fair amount of personal freedom. They were treated as to equal of men. Gender inequality was not shown in their rights and privileges in the society. They had every access to education high learning and training as well as participation in all functions. The Rig Vedic period produced women seers who took active part in agriculture, in manufacturing bows and arrows, and weaving cloth. By and large monogamy was in rule. Re-marriage of widows was permitted. The status of wife was honored and as prestigious as husband in the family.
The Aryans after inter- marrying the local denied the women to avail the benefits of education, equality and freedom. Buddhism however, renewed the Vedic tradition of giving a place of honor to women. The period also had produced women missionaries and intellectuals. After the Buddhist period confusion prevailed in the society. Women were honored and protected in the family but were not given freedom.
They were not allowed to inherit property or to remarry. Manu a lawmaker declared that women were to be protected and honored albeit in an inferior position .then Muslim rule came into existence and women’s status further worsened. practices such as qurdah child marriages ,female infanticide, and sati marked this deterioration during 18th century the British tried to make an effort to modify the Indian social structure .Laws were passed to permit Inter-caste marriages ,widow re –marriage and divorce under certain conditions .without hurting conservative susceptibilities, facilities were provided for education of women .These movements brought an awareness of the prevailing issue in the system, which are not requested for the revival of old values and social pattern.
Women are important in our society. Every woman has her own job or duty in this modern society in which men are unfortunately still the strongest gender .we can’t forget that a woman’s life is a lot more complicated than a man’s life. A woman has to take care of her own personal life and if she is a mother, she has to take care also of her children’s life too. Worse still is she is married, additional stress can be on her shoulders. yet they will still perform very well in the work environment in some cases better than their male counterparts.
The many silly commentaries I have heard against women occupying certain roles in the work place are therefore bovine nonsense. In my life the most important woman I remember is my darling mother .she was determined and even in her old age she was able to manage a busy school, actively participate in the church committees and still find time to look after her grand children .I have heard silly comments that women are not as strong as men and therefore certain engineering work they should not do. Wait a minute can a man do everything that a woman does?/ gender roles are based on norms or standards created by society. In the united states masculine roles are usually associated with strength , aggression and dominance, while famine roles are associated with passivity. Nurturing and subordination what then are leadership and managerial roles based on? I have been privileged to work with women all my life either as the manager or the managed. In both situations I have found women to be marvel to work with as they are usually a lot more critical on matters the require a much more robust approach and often produce results within time allocated.
The nation of perpetuating backwardness of women especially in rural areas is one of the significant contributors to poverty, unplanned family sizes, poor reproductive health, hunger etc. In countries such as Bangladesh in the rural setup, as women are looked at more as child bearers, its no wonder there is limited use of contraception, largely due to ignorance and lack of opportunity to get exposed to a more sophisticated way of living and making money, equality between women and men and girls and boys, is crucial to achieving sustainable development and meeting internationally agreed goals. The EU has attempted to provide leadership on issues of gender by making gender equality as a primary objective in the various projects. Sadly in 2012 only 28 percent of new EU project proposals had gender as a primary or significant objective, for below the target of 80% for 2015. Luckily, however consensus is growing around and need to demonstrate more sturdy leadership to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment stay visible and high on the agenda.
I have a vision that one day the constitution of my country “India” will reflect this new thinking of women empowerment by going a step further into making this thinking a much more felt reality. I have a vision one day the world especially in the developed countries will look at women as significant contributors to the GDP of a country and to the well being of not just their families, but society as a whole. I have a vision that within 2 years from today there shall be a significant improvement in the numbers of women leaders at various levels ( a situation which can be guaranteed if the rights of women are properly institutionalized within policies of organization). My belief is that the attitudes and expectations surrounding gender roles are typically based not on any inherent or natural gender differences, but on stereotypes, or over generalizing about the attitudes, trails, or behavior patterns of women and men. Its admirable how the western countries have developed in all fields of life. The education system, their health care system information technology etc are in the highest rankings. In western countries men and women are working shoulder to shoulder in the same pace and both are contributing and playing their parts equally in the developmental process. They are given basic education as well as fundamental and higher education without any restrictions from the society.
Early pregnancies or early marriages that are prevalent in India and have stopped many Indian girls becoming relevant in society, are unheard of. That is why the countries is that much developed. They are educating and encouraging both the sexes equally without discriminating or neglect of the girl child. In this way there is competition and where there is competition there is invention and invention leads to massive development in one way or another.
Women – Strength of society
Women and the measures we can take as a society to protect and give a safe world to her.
Women in today’s society
Women are integral part of today’s society .They have an active social life .they participated in various social and cultural functions.
Conclusion: What we should ask ourselves how women and men’s roles are changing in society .In this a global changes are restricted more to the western nations? Did you know that an exception to most other ancient societies. Egyptian women achieved parity with Egyptian men .They enjoyed same legal and economic rights, at least in theory. This concept can be found in Egyptian art and contemporary manuscripts.
The disparities between people’s legal rights were based on differences in social class and not on gender. Legal and economic rights were afforded to both men and women .please join me in paying special tribute to our women, our mother, sister, or compatriots and above all our partners.

References:
1. D. D.Kosambi, An Introduction to the study of Indian History.
2. D.P.Chatopadhyay, Science and Society of Indian History
3. Stein. B. Peasant, State and Society in Medieval South India
4.Nikki Vander Gaag.2014: Feminism and men
5.Lucinda Joypeach, Women in Culture: A women’s Studies Anthology
6. www.linkedin.com
7. www.studymoose .com
8.www.women today.