2.1 Capability approach
In order to liberate women from gender imbalances Amartya Sen suggest that it is inevitable to give women equal opportunities as a source of empowerment. The main idea of bringing the capability approach in this discussion is to provide various opportunities for individual to know themselves and the environment with them. On the other hand the capability approach collaborates well with Paulo Freire’s philosophy of education. This he does through his work on Capability Approach which encompasses the whole spectrum of life for an individual to be a participant in working towards all systems of oppression. He distinguishes between capabilities (the ability or opportunity a person has to do or be what she values), and functionings (what she actually manages to do or be). As Sen puts it, the capability of a person reflects the alternative combinations of functionings the person can achieve, and from which she/he can choose one collection (Sen, 131).
The distinction can also be seen as between the freedom to achieve something and actually achieving it, or between opportunity and outcome. In this case it is a useful distinction, even though empirically it is sometimes difficult to separate the two. Gender imbalances or any abuse can undermine both a woman’s capabilities and her functioning’s, in different ways. For instance, the serious physical and mental injury that an individual go through can cause, can critically undermine a woman’s economic freedoms— such as her capability to earn a living or acquire property — by making her fearful of retaliation if she goes out to work, or seeks to upgrade her skills, or explores various job options, or asserts her property rights. Upgrading skills, in particular, can r...
... middle of paper ...
...n’s) social opportunities for good health and for participating in public life, it limits their ability to contribute to a country’s social and economic advancement. Moreover, given that women’s preferences and priorities can be different from men’s, gender issues that undermines women’s ability to participate in, say, government decision-making could mean that some significant public goods that would enhance society’s well-being may not get priority. Finally, the relative silence on gender inequality in society and in the media underlines the failure of transparency guarantees on this front. It can also be argued that, even if the state is trying to enhance such instrumental freedoms for its citizens, through a range of public policy interventions, these efforts can prove ineffective or fail to reach women and children, if the dynamics of gender issues are ignored.
Throughout history, the role of women in society has caused arguments which resulted in the discretization of women’s intelligence, imagination, reason, and judgment (Murray 740). Women were forced to feel inferior because of men’s “natural rights,” resulting in the mental superiority of men. With the confinements of society ever on a woman’s threshold, came the inability to express thoughts and emotions without suffering ridicule from their male counterparts. Some critics suggest that the “inalienable rights… [such as] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were not simply taken away from women without consent, but they were rights never achievable for women at all (Deceleration of Independence). One critic, Judith Sargent Murray, a feminist of her day, advocates the rights of women on the grounds of social, political, and economic equality to men in her essay “On the Equality of Sexes.”
Most traditional societies and until recent times, women generally were at a disadvantage. Their education sometimes was limited to domestic skills (“Women’s rights” n.p.). After, there was revolutions, and working women in the former soviet union intended to hold low paying jobs. They were also represented in party and government councils (“Women’s rights” n.p.). The late 1960s and early 70s active feminists organized numerous women’s rights group (“Women’s rights”n.p.). Women encountered discrimination in many forms. In 1960 equal opportunities were given to women (“Women’s rights” n.p.). During the women’s movement certain social institutions and traditional values, were questioned (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Else where in the world the women’s rights movement has also made progress in achieving its goals. In nearly every nation, women have the right to vote and hold public office (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Women’s rights movement made progress in achieving goals in nearly every nation after that (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Major unsponsored conferences on women were held in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1995 (“Women’s rights” n.p.).
However, Europeans women were very segregated and under man control during the colonial times; but little by little women fight for their rights and become free of man domination. Today the status of women’s civil rights varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes. In recent decades women around the world have made strides in political participation, as for example women acquired the right to vote, the right to become part of political issues, the right to marriage who they want, and the right to be free as an individual.
Women have been an important role in society whether or not it is not remarked to the public eye. Oppression against women is never-ending along with violent acts constantly being pursued on them for over a century which is not only crucial but it is lessening their value worldwide. The suggestion of women’s emotions being a barrier for them to be equal to men is falsified, there is not one predicament that prevent a woman from being equal than a
As huge as the gender hole is, women, above all in developed countries have more contingencies today than ever before. But even with this, no country has truly accomplished gender equality. We need to shut down the gender gap in capacities such as health,employment, and education. The destiny of our world entrusts on the young women of todays times. Women have been struggling for equality for thousands of years. Even though we have taken many successes on our battle for equality and have made a tremendous amount of progress, we still are at disadvantages. We have been approved to vote and now we now can apply or take any job a male can have. Even if we are able do this, we nonetheless still are pinned to the equal expectations we had for all these years. We are anticipated to watch over the kids, have dinner made ready for everyone to enjoy, to do the laundry, and make sure the dishes are clean and put back where they belong. We must make our way towards the movements needed to make sure that the health of women around the world is efficient and fair. We must inform coverage and encourage actions throughout international location, groups, and development partners. This isn't just about the variations among women and men throughout our society, and not just for women. Discussing women’s health is a crucial and adequate approach to establishing better
There is a continuing debate worldwide regarding the topic of women’s rights and equality. Some have stronger opinions than others but in the long run it is shown that women have come a long way since the Seneca Falls convention in 1848 as well as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1920’s. Since the civil rights movement, women have struggled with religious freedom, equality, schooling, voting, stating their voice in government, and family life. Over the past generations dramatic social and legal changes have been pursued to pave the way for women’s acceptance today; changes such as affirmative action, reproductive rights, abortion, and the pursuit of higher education. Generations of women have come together to help build stronger ground to address women’s rights by participating in civil rights meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking and non-violent resistance acts. Women have also overcome hardships such as rejection, isolation, discrimination, and unfair treatment in the workforce. In today’s society women now have more opportunities then ever before such as invol...
Throughout history and even today women are regarded as inconsequential. They are chattels or servants, a person without rights. In some present instances, women are struggling to show that they do have rights and can make a contribution to society if given the chance.
“Women’s empowerment results from a process where women can freely analyze, develop, and voice their needs and interests without them being predefined or unwillingly imposed by religion, government, or social norms and where their influence and control extends women’s familial/kinship circles” (Haghighat, par.6). There is an ongoing fight for women’s rights everywhere around the world. Men have been getting more power than women such as economic and political power and their rights are not limited as women rights are. There are not any limits with men whereas women are limited to many things. “When voting rights were given to women in the late 1800’s to 1920 it was a decisive moment in the women’s right movement in western Europe and North American democracies” (“Women’s rights”).”Women’s rights groups in the second half of the twentieth century focused on greater legal equality in terms of wages and credit, reproductive rights, family law, and education” (“Women’s rights”). Women’s rights are limited to them and it’s time to give women more rights to have equality because women should have equality in every aspect of their lives. They are unable to have self empowerment due to the rights not given to them. Empowerment is increasing spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength of individuals or communities. It is about achieving your goals to the best of your ability with your potential.
While women were traditionally largely responsible for child care and managing the household, men were more concerned with earning the money in order to support their families. Moreover, it is has been a widely held view, especially by male politicians, that women were not capable of evaluating political matters because they were too emotional and thus, don’t have the required powerfulness (Monique Leijenaar, 1997). Nevertheless, women’s status and integration in the political decision making process has improved continuously since most western-countries introduced women’s right to vote. Consequently, in some of these states women’s underrepresentation is not a numerical problem anymore; instead it is only a problem of the representation of their interests and values on the political agenda. This can be illustrated by the example of Denmark where women have a majority in six councils. However, women should be given more power in order to create a world in which power is exercised equitably for the benefit of
The “Politics” section, from the UN’s 2008 report of the progress of the world’s women, discusses in detail how women’s roles in government and politics in general have expanded and can continue to expand. Moreover, it also explores different challenges and obstacles women may encounter when it comes to politics, and how these obstacles can be overcome. In discussing these issues, the author describes a “cycle of political accountability”. This so called cycle is a process by which women’s engagement in politics results in a positive “feedback loop” whereby a more gender-balanced political system may arise. According to the report, there are five stages: mobilization, representation, legislation & policy, implementation, and transforming politics. Of course, the cycle can also go backwards leading to the loss of rights for women.
As women, those of us who identify as feminists have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at what cost do these advances come with?... ... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/whatisfem.htm Bidgood, J. 2014, April 8 -.
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
The implementation of gender quotas in electoral politics is a mean to combat the democratic deficit that occurs when a social group is excluded from the political sphere due to structural or cultural reasons. Quotas are a form of affirmative action/positive discrimination which is meant to remove the structural and cultural obstacles that keep women out of the formal political ...
The modern world has resulted in earnings, wages and salaries for the women similar to that of men, but the women are continuously facing inequalities in the work force (Andal 2002). This2 can be attributed to the pre-established notion that women shall not be given access to finance or communication with the world outside of the home which is highly unethical and unfair (Eisenhower, 2002). In the past, they were considered as the underprivileged ones which were not thought of having equal rights but this fact has changed now. The status of women can be explicitly defined as the equality and the freedom of the women.
...ds & Gelleny, 2007). Moreover, the status of women is independent on policy adjustments in developing countries. Governments in developing countries should organize an economically and political stable environment, to be economically attractive (Maxfield, 1998 as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Other critics state governments are forced to cut expenditures in education and social programs. This phenomenon especially affects women (Ayres and McCalla, 1997, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Since the public sector is one of the main employers of females, women are often the most disadvantaged by governmental efforts to cut expenditures in the public sector (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2004, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). As a result, women will become unemployed and unable to expanded education among themselves or their children. (Richards & Gelleny, 2007)