For as long as humans have been on the earth men and women have played certain roles. In early times men were the hunters and women were the gatherers. As time went on men became the explorers and women were seen as property. Men were the bread-winners and women were house wives. It seems that throughout history men have always had more “power” than women. There are many theories as to how these gender roles came to be. Looking at India’s history and present day life can give us an idea of the roles both genders play in society.
Well begin by looking at women’s role in India. In many of the religions surrounding the Indian culture women are seen as goddesses or child bearers of gods. Women however have always had less of a say in what happens in their life or environment. Many women in India today are given little opportunity to be the best they can be. Many women have to live with domestic abuse, sexual abuse, prostitution, a lack of education and sometimes are forced into marriages for advantage. The majority of men in India believe that household & child care activities such as changing diapers, preparing food and entertaining a child are a responsibility of women. Many times at weddings the groom and families ask for healthy sons instead of healthy children from the bride. It seems that even before they are born women are being surprised. Looking at men now we can see that they have always had more “power”. Men have typically had leader positions and the women had to obey the men. Men were the bread-winners and when married they would attain the land the women’s family offered. Men had to be masculine and follow the gender norms we as a society placed on men. Gender norms like men are strong, men can’t cry, men can’t talk about their feelings, etc. These gender roles can lead to much stress and danger in a man. Being taught that men can’t demonstrate feelings and has to keep to himself can lead to self-harm paths. Taking a look at both women and men in India now it seems that they follow much of what we consider in the Western hemisphere “old-fashioned”. Today in some countries women can be leaders, women can have a voice, women can cast a vote, and so much more. Men can show their emotions, talk about things, men doesn’t necessarily be the only source of income, and so much more. As we can see however India seems to not be as advanced when it comes to the roles men and women play in society. Men still have more of a say in things and women are still considered for child bearing purposes. In places where both men and women are better educated both sexes think that each sex deserves just as much respect as the other. Although there has been some improvements in some parts of India in these societal roles. The majority of the country still has some work to do. A lot of this can be traced back to the man; men seem to fear that if women become equals they will have less to offer. Men fear that women can become just as powerful as the man. This idea that men have and the many other factors like education, location, and caste play a huge role in societal roles. I think India still has ways to go when it comes to the societal roles men and women play in society. There are other countries who follow this idea that men have more power than women not just India. We even see it here in the United Sates sometimes, but it is more prominent in areas that have lower opportunities for education. I think that as a whole we have come a long way, but just because these roles have bettered in some places doesn’t mean we can ignore the places where change is still needed. Resources
3 Comments
Bailey Serafin
10/22/2015 06:02:59 pm
I really enjoyed reading your blog post about the societal roles in India. I do not know much about India and found it very interesting that the country is not as advanced as others when it comes to equality for both men and women. It seems that they have made a small improvement but I could only imagine what it would be like to be a woman in India and not have any rights and be treated as just a "child- bearer." Women are worth so much more than that.
Reply
Lucas
10/27/2015 01:11:52 pm
Elizabeth,
Reply
Mackenzie
10/27/2015 10:38:22 pm
Hello!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2015
Categories |