Women

1183 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literature review of gender discrimination

As the girls walking silently toward the school house they are surprised to find it in ashes. Burned to the ground; gone was their sanctuary of learning. All around the world women and girls are oppressed with an excuse of religion. This discrimination goes back centuries and will most likely continue in to the future if the problem is not acknowledged and action taken against the oppression. Discrimination of women in religion is present in organized worship around the world.
The books guiding the faithful, such as the bible, help assist the oppression women in religion. In almost all of the propionate world religions there is teaching of the danger in women present in the holy books. The Koran the book in which Islam is based off is filled with prejudice against women. “And call to witness to two men; or if two not be men, then one man and two women.” (Koran, the Cow. Verse 282). This quote shows that a woman is only half a man. That the man is whole and has the most say or power in the world. That women’s only job is to take care of the home, that they have no reason to be a part of society or make any decisions without consult or approval of a man. Women are thought to have evil in their soul and the evil must be controlled by a man. In the bible it is Eve that ate the forbidden apple in the garden; it was the evil in her that persuades Adam. That one story has set the tone for must religions based off the bible. Also in the Christian faith, women are meant to be celibate for the entity of their lives to earn God’s grace. In the Islamic faith women are meant only for reproduction to produce a son. Aram Kamguian addresses this in an article on famafrique.org “The message is clear: men are meant to dominate, women obey.”...

... middle of paper ...

...r of hope that reminds us that while religion is part of the problem, it can also be part of the solution.”(Kristof). But is this change in mind set happening fast enough? Can women afford to be beaten and thought as lower than men for much longer? No, everyday girls die from harassment due to religious teachings.
Organized religion discriminates against women with help from religious teachings, tradition, and fear. The only way to rid religion of discrimination is to decide that women are equal as a whole world. To stop teaching children to accept hoe the world is now. The president for the Atheist organization of Australia thinks the only way to become equal is to abandon organized religion all together. But honestly as a group we must teach the next generation to change, to be brave. Because changing a second class citizen way of thinking will change the world.

Show More
Related

  • Western Religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

    1915 Words  | 4 Pages

    In addition, studying the place of women in the light of spiritual teachings of the western religions, we can convince other women and people around in bringing about a positive change in the modern global village. Studying various religious beliefs and their in-depth analysis proves that there is a fundamental teaching and principle of all spiritual forms that humanity is to be treated as one concrete unit wherein all men and women share similar relationship and identical position in the eyes of the Almighty. The unjust oppression of women is based on false assumptions and preconceived notions by the male-dominating world, has been obvious and responsible for paving the way for serious gender issues to emerge. This caused religious conflicts among the masses. Confined to narrow realms of activity in society, deprived from the essential human rights, restricted to confined educations scope, open to unhealthy criticism and mental and physical abuse, this society has not permitted women to become what they potentially are.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    2274 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gender inequality has been a major issue for many centuries now. Societies insist in assigning males and females to different roles in life. The traditional stereotypes and norms for how a male and female should present themselves to the world have not changed much over time. But individuals are more than just their gender and should have the right to act and be treated the way they want. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    Read More

  • Procopius, The Secret History (Byzantine)

    1569 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is a Bible, a book. The Koran gives examples of the ways a woman needs to act in society. A woman is supposed to be there for her husband’s. A husband can marry multiple women and the woman may not be upset. A woman may have a dowry, but it is highly favored to give a portion of it to their husband

    Read More

  • The Year of Living Biblically, by A. J. Jacobs

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the purpose of the Bible is to teach us the right way to live with its numerous rules, the book “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs, exposes the less publicized rules and how contradictory some of them can be. The main propose of the author of this book is not to criticize or make fun of religion in his quest to “follow the Bible as literally as possible”, but to demonstrate that he enjoys the learning experience. A.J. Jacobs suggests that people claim to be religious when in fact, they only take the rules and ideas they want, this is the reason why I think gender inequality continues to penetrate society today.

    Read More

  • Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women have not been treated equally in history. They were not given the same rights and opportunities as men. However, religion was a way the women could get an education and power in their spiritual lives. What was a choice women had to get educated or involved? Church, or convents being an only option for most women, it was the only possibility for them to have an education and control over their minds. I believe that there are a lot of authors that would agree that women turned to the church or religion frequently to escape home lives. In a lot of readings there are parents that give away their children to the churches early on because the parents think it is a better option for their child’s lives. Also if the parents did not have enough

    Read More

  • IRP 1

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have always found the role of women in religion to be a fascinating and diverse subject, varying from community to community. Sometimes, the role of a woman in society is so closely linked to her religious role, that the two are indistinguishable. For example, why is it that some women are expected to upkeep the home and children without question? How are such gender roles assigned? Are these gender roles created by religion and upheld by culture or created by culture and upheld by religion? Where do such social expectations stem from? What does the daily life of a woman in religious groups that hold such expectations look like? And given these questions, is it possible for such roles to evolve? Has social change within gender roles occurred in the context of religion? In order to find the answers to these questions and questions like them, one must seek further insight of religion itself and the social context within which it exists.

    Read More

  • The Ladies

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Don’t forget the ladies,” are the words that Abigail wrote to her husband John Adams during the drafting of the Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, her words went ignored because 130 years after that document was signed, women were still not given basic rights in America. During this period, female writers began to make themselves known on the dramatic stage through works such as the Yellow Wallpaper, and The Awakening. Glaspell, a 20th century feminist writer, wrote Trifles and A Jury of Her Peers to express her criticism for women’s rights; she also based it off a true story that she reported. She uses these writing pieces to examine the treatment of women and how she opposes the gender stratification that has hindered women during her time. This paper will attempt to analyze the role of women during the early 20th century, to compare and contrast how the men and women of the story examined the crime scene, and Glaspell’s opposition on the gender stratification.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gender Inequity In Society

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    Judith Lorder writes in Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, "talking about gender for most people is equivalent of fish talking about water" because gender is so routine that its "assumptions and presuppositions" are taken for granted and left unquestioned and unchallenged. Institutions such as religion has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years and has teachings that are outright sexist, which limits lives of women because it creates the idea that there are just two extremes and no in-between : the virgin or the whore. Men do not have to face persecution or tyranny in instutions and social systems have a patriarchal foundation. Gender inequity operates within instutions because the institutions are in the control of men who are privileged from the gender inequity. Institutions limit women 's lives by excluding women who do not conform to their expectations or follow their "rules." The rules or norms within these instutitions were determined by men which explains why women 's problems or limitations are not a concern for

    Read More

  • Women's Roles in the Postclassical Period by Religion

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout most of documented history women of all cultures and civilizations have lived under patriarchal circumstances. In almost every religion and civilization women's status was not equal to that of a man's. Women in most cultures are looked at as subservient, obedient creatures that were put on this world for very few reasons, mainly to bear children and do what their husbands require of them. In fact, religions are a big part of the reason of this oppression due to the religion's reinforcement and justification of patriarchal conditions. In this week's selected readings from different aspects of Islamic, Byzantine Christian, and Western Christian cultures, it is very apparent as to how these three religions did reinforce and justify the patriarchal conditions in which women were struggling to live in. Also, by reading the selections one can see how different religions could make a difference for women and how they lived their lives.

    Read More

  • Discrimination, Prejudice, And Hate Crimes

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    Discrimination happens every day, whether inadvertently or not. This mindset has been practiced for thousands upon thousands of years. We live in a society that is quick to judge other individuals based on their cultural background, race, age, even their financial status. Discrimination has been an ongoing issue throughout the world since the beginning of time. Women, throughout history, have experienced discrimination first hand for a long time. The women’s cultural background, race, financial status mattered, but not as much as the fact that she was a woman first. For example, women were thought of as fragile individuals with bodies that were not built to a man’s standard. For thousands

    Read More

  • Women In Elizabeth Johnson's Quest For The Living God

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women have been marginalized since the very beginning of Christianity. They were viewed as a “second Eve” (92) who did not deserve the same attention as men. Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity and

    Read More

  • The Role of Woman in Judaism

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Torah, in general, does not exactly alleviate the situation of women. Many Jewish feminists argue that a big chunk of the misogynistic views of men stem from the exclusivity of God as male. Judith Plaskow says, “There is the fact that we address God as he. And it is not just that we use the masculine pronoun in the absence of neuter ones – we image him in male terms. Thus he is King, Lord, Shepard, Father, etc.” She goes on to mention the incredulous arguments against the ordainment of women. Arguments that stated things like because a Rabbi or Minister is in effect a Godly figure, and since God is used in exclusively male terms, it is not fitting that a woman should take a role in the clergy.

    Read More

  • Women in Muslim Society

    2561 Words  | 6 Pages

    You might have heard at some time or the other that Islam teaches that women are "inferior" and "unequal" to men. Women are described as weak, inferior, inherently evil (it is the nature of woman to promote fitnah (mischief)), we have deficient intellectual capabilities and are spiritually lacking. Furthermore, these evaluations have been used to claim that women are unsuitable for performing certain tasks, or for functioning in some ways in society.

    Read More

  • Women's Inferior Status in The Bible

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Interpretations of the Bible are influential to our society because in the United States, approximately eighty-three percent of the population is Christian, according to a poll performed by ABC News. Perhaps the Bible is written with women subservient to men because the very story of creation is written as such. Genesis serves as the foundation of not only our universe, but also the religious text. In the biblical story of creation, Adam came first, then came the animals, and then last of all came Eve, putting the origin of women last. Then, it is Eve who is vulnerable enough for evil to deceive her into taking the apple and she who persuades Adam to follow her example. This sets up a basis that women are inherently weak and sinful for the rest of the faith to be built upon. (Stanton)

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Religion

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Initially, Old Testament describes women as the corrupter of man. However, through interpreting the action of Jesus Christ, we see that he holds women in equal roles as men, to include mention of female apostles. The New Testament does not promote equality but does mention the acts of Jesus. Finally, the Qur'an places women in a subservient role allowing men to keep their under control, by any means. Interpretations of the Gods word under the disguise of organized religion are the product of the gender discrimination of the time and continue to paint women as lesser creatures in the eyes of God.

    Read More

More about Women

Open Document