The role of women in the world: The oppression continues. But are political and social powers for women on the rise?
Presenter: John Pope
July, 2014
We can all agree that women have been oppressed throughout history, and very few women have become national leaders. In more recent times, the women’s movement has been successful, at least here in the Western world, at educating society about women’s issues. But in many countries of the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, women are still second-class citizens in their own countries.
How far have we come here in the West and particularly in Canada? What is the role of women in today’s political and commercial world? What are the hopes for women in developing countries?
Provocative question: Would more women in positions of power be better for the world?
Here are some background links:
“The treatment of women through the ages has been succinctly summed up by Professor R. Howard Bloch:
The ritual denunciation of women constitutes something on the order of a cultural constant, reaching back to the Old Testament as well as to Ancient Greece and extending through the fifteenth century. Found in Roman tradition, it dominates ecclesiastical writing, letters, sermons, theological tracts, discussions and compilations of canon law; scientific works, as part and parcel of biological, gynaecological, and medical knowledge; and philosophy. The discourse of misogyny runs like a rich vein throughout the breadth of medieval literature.”
http://www.historyofwomen.org/oppression.html
“There have always been female rulers. Egyptian Queens are believed to have governed from around 3000 BCE, and the first to be named by the sources without any doubt is Ku-baba, who ruled the Mesopotamian City-State of Ur round 2500 BCE.”
http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/
“…it’s a time to call attention to a number of issues facing women, including discriminatory laws, the high rate of pregnancy-related deaths and the disproportionately high number of women killed and victimized by wars.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3 /8/womens_rights_are_workers_rights_kavita
Women in government in the modern era are under-represented in most countries worldwide, in contrast to men. However, women are increasingly being politically elected to be heads of state and government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_politics