For this blog entry, I would like to expand on one of the essential questions our class discussed for our upcoming gender studies unit.
To what extent can a culture be defined and/or understood by the positions of man and woman in the society?
This inquiry is extremely relevant in today’s world. Personally, I believe that the more freedom women have in a society, the more advanced that society is. In advanced countries such as the United States, although ultimate gender equality has not been reached, women generally have the same opportunities as men. In places that are not as far along in their ideals and technologies, women routinely have less freedom. This is proven by many middle eastern countries.
Saudi Arabia is one middle eastern country that is at the forefront of modernization. They have just held their first election where women were allowed to vote. This is roughly eighty years after the 20th Amendment was passed in the United States, guaranteeing suffrage for women. For a country that is considered to be leading the modernization of the middle east, this is an impressive statistic. Perhaps other nearby countries will follow Saudi Arabia’s example.
Iran is another setting of gender inequality in the middle east. While as a country they are technologically advanced enough to create nuclear weapons, Iran still places extreme restrictions on their woman citizens. Women are not permitted to watch male sporting events, leave the country without their husband’s permission, and face serious discrimination involving child custody, marriage, and divorce. There have been many cases where Iranian women have spoken out against this awful discrimination and found themselves in jail as a result.
Although restrictions placed on women have largely been lifted worldwide compared to previous centuries, there are many countries that still have strides to go. I believe that one can safely assume that the more rights women have in a country can reflect how advanced that society is.
