The Role Of Women In Nira Yuval-Davis '' Gender And Nation'

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he Czech nation had gone through tremendous influences of the German culture due to the Habsburg Empire which, lead the Czech culture, language, and a sense of a Czechoslavakian identity to diminish gradually. In the late 18th century, the Czech national movement transpired, therefore the roles of history of the Czech culture had been the center focus in order to show that their nation had maintained their language, history, and culture regardless of the Germanization of the Habsburg Empire. The Czech nation-building required them to restore the history of their culture. In doing so, the nation gave women the role of motherly figures who would educate their children in regards to the Czech history, culture, and language. Due to the close relationship of women and the concept of nature, expressed in Nira Yuval-Davis’, Gender and Nation [1997], the women were represented to be the biological reproducers of the nation. However, men were more cultured, leading them to be the titular figures of the political sphere during the nation-building. The women of the Czech nation represented more than just being the biological reproducers of nation-building; they represented sacrifice, commitment, and struggles that amounted to play an important role in the Czech nation-building. …show more content…

Yuval-Davis states that “If the Woman does not want to be Mother, Nation is on its way to die. The mothers of the nation, the womenfolk as a whole, are the titans of our struggle” (1). Yuval-Davis explains how women are far more than just biological reproducers of a nation - they are the embodiment of a nations struggles and figures who undergo major sacrifices for one’s nation. The emphasis of utilizing women as being the representation of mothers to educate children of the Czech culture, refers to a type of social order for the Czech

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