Women’s Role in Society

Women’s Role in Society

Women are an integral part of today’s society. They have an active social life. They participate in various socio-economic and political functions. Women have played many roles in various societies throughout history. She has been a wife, a mother, a farmer, a teacher or a volunteer worker and many more. Throughout the centuries, almost every society has had ideas of what activities are proper for women. Some societies have given women honor; others have considered women less important to men. Today, women in many countries make at least some decisions about what they will do with their lives. In most parts of our world, a woman can now choose whether she wants a career, to marry, or to raise children. Women around the world are increasingly challenging society’s traditional image of what a woman should be allowed to do.

The Changing Role of a Woman

Women are important in our society. Every woman has her own job or duty in this modern society. The role of women in society has been greatly overseen negative in the last few decades but now it is coming to a more positive perspective. In the early days, women were seen only as wives who were intended to cook, clean, and take care of the kids. They were not allowed to vote while men took care of having jobs and paying any bills that had to be paid. Until the second half of the 20th century, women in most societies were denied some of the legal and political rights accorded to men. Although women in much of the world have gained significant legal rights, many people believe that women still do not have equality with men.

This is evident at home, at their workplace, and in society in general. The traditional role of man was to work and make money, which would be used by all in the household. The traditional role of the woman was to stay at home, take care of the children, clean the house, and cook. The role of women is much different today than it was in the past. Today, women work outside the home much more. The women today have changed a lot because of the development of civilization, the women’s liberation movement, changing view of women in society, and the businesses. Women are required to balance a lot more today than in the past with jobs, children, homes and life in general. Women also have more power than they had in the past. Look at the likes of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, the former first ladies of the United States of America who have portrayed and exercised great power in influencing the world.  

Women’s Roles in Today’s Modern Society

Women play a great role in everyone’s life without which we cannot imagine the success of life. They are highly responsible for the successful continuation of the life on this planet through child birth/reproduction. Today, women’s conditions have been improved a little bit; they have started taking part in the many activities other than family and kids. This development is also the result of women’s education and secularization of social values. Without women, a man wouldn’t be a man at all and would not have the comfort of having someone by his side through the rough and bad times. Fortunately, more women have made vast improvements in their lifestyles in the past few decades from holding positions in governments to simple things like getting a job and supporting themselves. We cannot 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 also has to take care of her children´s life. Majority of the women are still undertaking the bulk of household jobs compared to men, even when they are in full time employment (Morris 1990, Robertson Elliot 1996, Drew et al 1998). Women play a variety of significant roles in today’s society from their birth till the end of life. Even after playing all her roles and the entire job timely in efficient manner in the modern society, she is weak because men are still the strongest gender of the society. Even after lots of awareness programmes, rules and regulations in the society by the government, her life is more complicated than that of a man. She has to take care of herself and family members as daughter, granddaughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, etc. By following such a big responsibility in the family, women are fully able to come out and do jobs for their own bright future, family and country.

Their interest in social and cultural activities is increasing. Women are being professional, bread-earners for their families and an independently thinking individual of the country even after only being responsible for many responsibilities of the life. As a mother, her role in the development of the emotional psychological aspect of the newborn child has been also very significant. She was not only the creator and maintainer of her child but an educator and disciplinarian as well. However, her main roles are as a wife and mother.

Conclusion

Women’s interest and participation in social life is increasing. Unlike in the past where women’s roles were raising and taking care of children, today many women especially in urban societies have come out to take part in official/formal employments. Women are participating in social organizations and are developing taste for leading a life of social involvement. The status of women in urban societies is better; however in various rural societies it is still worse because of lack of proper education and education system. The woman is now an important instrument of social change. The extent of a woman’s participation in the corporate life is thus the measure of social change in society.

There is need for complete abolition of social practices such as dowry, female infanticide, permanent widowhood, child marriage etc.