Grimaldi1

Emma Grimaldi
Honors World Understanding
Mr. Kendall
4/27/14
Feminism in Todays World
The feminist movement, or the womens movement, is the notion to benefit the rights of
women. Feminism began in the 1640s; it was the radical notion that women deserved equal
political rights to men. Women believed that once they achieved political equality other benefits
would follow. The movement was first started to create equality in politics, then in the 1960s
women started fighting for social equality. 1 Today, feminism is used by the world to oppress
Middle Eastern women further through culture, religion, education, and politics; while the
Western feminists try to aide women in the East, Western feminists have forgotten about the
cultural difference between the two hemispheres and that theory is different than practice. This
has caused feminists and feminism to be used as derogatory terms and prevented many people
from receiving the help they need.
Feminism started in the 1640s with politics, women wanted the right to vote and play a role in
the government. Margaret Cavendish was one of the first women to comment on womens rights
in England, setting an example for future feminists to follow. The earliest movement was during
the French Revolution in 1789, when French women fought for issues to benefit their rights.
These women, along with other women around the world saw that political affairs were the best
way to gain women their rights. The idea was that once political rights were granted equality
would follow from laws that would be passed. These women were smart, they allied themselves
with anyone who had a cause for, connecting the freedom of voting to the right of working.

1 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era, accessed March 2, 2014, http://worldhistory.abcclio.com/.

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Feminism was huge in 1860 -1870 when women started publishing their work throughout
Europe. The idea to be educated and spread education became popular. This led to womens
suffrage and education becoming a pressing issue. Feminism came to America in 1848 when
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, which led
to the Declaration of Sentiments.2 The Declaration of Sentiments was a declaration, similar to the
constitution, stating womens rights. It was signed by one hundred of the three hundred men and
women who attended the convention.3 The Seneca Falls Convention is considered to be the
beginning of feminism in America and an important part of American history, they wanted
African-American men and women to also have Constitutional rights. American feminists were
important in the antislavery movement before and after the Civil War. The end World War I
ended of the first wave of feminism in the United States of America. The movements activity
declined after the 1920s since the political goals the first feminists dreamed of had been
achieved.4
The second wave of feminism within Europe, known as The Womens Liberation Movement,
began in the 1960s. However, feminists no longer focused on political rights but on the
oppression of women. They wanted the roles women played in society and the pressure put on
them by society to be re-examined so women would no longer be forced into a lifestyle they did
not want such as being a housewife. It all began when Simone de Beauvoir, a French author,
wrote The Second Sex in 1949, where it was argued that women were taught feminine qualities

2 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era

3 United States. National Park Service, "Declaration of Sentiments," National Parks Service, April 25, 2014,
accessed May 03, 2014, http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/declaration-of-sentiments.htm.

4 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era

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instead of having those qualities naturally and that men were more valued in society while
women were considered trophies. Europe once again began a feminist movement. 5
Following Europe, America experienced their second wave of feminism when Betty Friedan
wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963, which protested the limitations women had in
homemaking role. Women wanted to break free of stereotypical roles that were once traditional.6
A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex but neither should she adjust to
prejudice and discrimination, Friedan had written in her book.7 This quote represents the
thinking of the feminists in the 1960s era. Women wanted social equality, not special privileges,
not to be better than men. They wanted have the freedom to pursue dreams and live the life they
chose without being insulted or degraded for their choices.
Countries around the world reflected the events in America. Feminists in Great Britain
organized an assertive protest against Ford Motor Company because they wanted equal pay for
equal work, not pay based off a persons sex. Britain even held the first Womens Liberation in
Oxford University in 1970. In Spain, after Francisco Francos, a dictator in Spain, death in 1975,
the first wave of feminism within the country started. After a political revolution, Turkey
received more freedom in 1980. The United Nations even stated that 1975-1985 was the Decade
of Women which led to feminist activism to increase around the world. People in Cyprus wanted
peace, Palestine wanted freedom from tradition Islamic societies within Egypt, and India called
for rapists to be prosecuted. The second wave of feminism came to an end by the 1980s when
5 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era
6 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era
7 Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, "Betty Friedan: Quote on Women's Rights," ABC-ClIO, accessed
March 11, 2014,

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the activity started to end. The period of the 1980s is referred to as the antifeminist period and
was a setback for many feminists.8
In todays world, feminism has lost its original meaning. What was once the radical notion of
equality and freedom the idea of choosing the life a woman wants to live, not living one that
has already been picked for her - is now a tool used to degrade and control women. The Western
world is very liberal compared to the old Eastern world countries; women in the West tend to be
less modest and see the women in the East as oppressed creatures cowering behind a husband
they hate and fear. There is the idea that a stereotypical Eastern woman is someone who is too
scared to leave her husband for the freedom she deserves and is instead stuck in a society and
religion that hates her. Western feminists never think of the culture differences between the two
cultures.
The Western World often forgets about the difference between the two hemispheres. In
Islamic societies, they closely follow the Koran, which states that women are equal to men. It is
not the religion or beliefs the people follow, but instead it is the people themselves that oppress
the women. In the Koran it is stated that abandoning female children is disapproved and both
daughters and sons are expected to be educated. In practice however, many families will ignore
their daughters and only send sons to school. It is not the Koran oppressing the women; instead it
is the men, the fathers, the husbands, the sons, who abuse their daughters, wives, sisters.9 The
West does not focus on people being the problem; instead they see the religion as abusive and

8 "Feminism," ABC-CLIO's World History: Modern Era

9Amy Hackney Blackwell, "Women in Islamic Societies," ABC-ClIO, accessed March 2, 2014, http%3A%2F
%2Fissues.abcclio.com%2FSearch%2FDisplay%2F1731937%3Fterms%3Dwomen%2Bin%2Bislamic
%2Bsocieties.

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dangerous. Instead of focusing on the big issues, Western feminists, the people who could be
making a difference, focus on small simple things such as the clothes the Eastern women wear.
The veil is an article of conservative clothing many Eastern women wear that covers their head
and shoulders. Feminists claim it is oppressive, French President Nicolas Sarkozy even stated
that women who wear veils are prisoners behind a screen, cut off from social contact, deprived
of all identity.10 Many people in the Western hemisphere share the same views as Sarkozy, that
being so covered and modest prevents the women from being actual people, but the people in the
West forget that being conservative is not the problem. These WMDs (women in Muslim dress)
seem to evoke the same fear as those other WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). Muslim
women value their bodies, they simply dont believe in flashing skin, stated Sheema Khan,
author of Of Hockey and Hijab.11 Many women choose to wear the veil because it connects them
with their God and they believe in modesty. This idea of freeing Eastern women by ridding them
of a piece of fabric is similar to the idea that women are free once they have access to make-up
and liberal clothing, being oppressed has nothing to do with how much lipstick someone is
capable of wearing. For many Americans, cultural restraints on individual behavior
automatically look like oppression. I think thats a very American look at the world. For lots of
cultures, communal standards arent seen as inhibiting individual freedoms, Christina
Michelmore, a Chatham College professor in Pennsylvania stated when questioned on Western
views in the Middle East.12 Culture views are forgotten and the Western world is failing to see
that the East has different values, principles, and morals.
10 Anne Kingston, "Who Are We to Judge? Extreme Modesty, or Freedom Gone Wild? Why the Debate over the
Veil Is Much More Complicated than You Think," Gale Power Search, January 23, 2012, accessed March 11, 2014

11 Anne Kingston, "Who Are We to Judge? Extreme Modesty, or Freedom Gone Wild?, Gale Power Search
12 Anne Kingston, "Who Are We to Judge? Extreme Modesty, or Freedom Gone Wild?, Gale Power Search

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Big problems like domestic abuse, rape, or honor killings are ignored within the East.
Honor killings are when a father, son, or husband murders his daughter, sister, or wife because
she has either violated the social Islamic code or was believed to have violated the social code. A
Turkish woman had her throat slit in 1998 when a man dedicated a song to her on the radio
because it was considered to be inappropriate.13 There are laws in place, but the honor killings
are so deeply embedded in society that there are not many people who enforce it and when laws
are not enforced they hold no power. An outside force, the West, needs to step in and ensure the
safety of women within the Islamic societies not through appearance and looks but through
judicial courts and support groups that can provide protection and help. Humans are oppressed
when they no longer have the right to make choices for themselves and have access to education
not when they dress modestly or believe in a religion associated with an unpopular stereotype.
It is forgotten that the Western world faces the same problems. While there are no known
honor killings in the West, women are still raped, sexually harassed, and murdered. These are
worldwide actions, not just Eastern issues. In fact, every two minutes an American is being
sexually harassed and two-thirds of all rapists are people the victim knew, thirty-eight percent of
rapists were friends or acquaintances. Ninety-seven percent of rapists will never spend a single
day in jail.14 In the East, women are killed by the people they trust for being seen as being
provocative and in the West; women are raped by the people they trust for the same reason. It is
hypocritical for people in the Western world to claim that women in the East are abused in

13 Nivedita Vaidya, "Women's Rights in the World: Overview," ABC-ClIO, 2006, accessed March 2, 2014, http
%3A%2F%2Fissues.abc-clio.com%2FSearch%2FDisplay%2F1098050%3Fterms%3Dwomen%2527s%2Brights
%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bworld.

14 "Statistics | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network," Statistics | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest
National Network, , accessed May 02, 2014, http://www.rainn.org/statistics.

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oppressed when the exact same thing happens all around the world. In America, there is this idea
called Rape Culture, when the victim of a rape tells people of the assault for support and is
asked what they were wearing and is blamed for their assault.15 Women within the West, much
like the women in the East, are not protected from assault by their society members. This rape
culture affects thousands of men and women yet the Western world does nothing to change or
prevent this from happening. It is embedded into the Wests society like honor killings is
embedded into the Easts society.
Many of todays feminists claim that women are oppressed by the Koran, which is not the
case. In fact, in the Koran version of the creation, the Koran Eve did not take the blame for the
Koran Adams fall from grace like she did in the bible.16 It is common in multiple religions for
the man to be in charge and the woman to follow. The Bible states that women were created so
men would not be lonely.17 The Koran states that men are supposed to protect their wives and be
able to support them.18 Patriarchal societies are nothing new; they date back to Ancient Rome
and are still common in todays world. The West acts as if it has the perfect society, yet the
President of the United States has never been a woman, women in the United States did not get
their right to vote until 1920; for ninety-four years women have been able to have political power

15 Zerlina Maxwell, "Rape Culture Is Real," Time, March 27, 2014, accessed May 12, 2014,
http://time.com/40110/rape-culture-is-real/.

16 Blackwell, Amy Hackney. "Women in Islamic Societies."

17 The New American Bible: Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources
and the Revised New Testament(Wichita, Kan.: Fireside Catholic Pub., 2004), pg. #10.

18Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Quran (Beltsville, MD: Amana Publications, 2001), pg. #195.

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in the land of the free.19 Even today, men all around the world out-number the women in
government systems. Within the U.S. Senate there are seventeen women and eighty-three men,
the House has three hundred and sixty-two men and only seventy-six women.20 In the British
parliament there is one woman for every five men.21 Women still do not hold an equal amount of
positions to men within the West.
However, within the Middle East women currently do not even hold the right to vote.
There was a time in the Middle East when people started to have liberal views on the Islamic
government and womens rights. Liberal Muslims wanted to review the Islamic Code and rewrite the old interpretations of it, which would have given women more rights such as mandatory
bride consent, increasing legal marriage age, making it easier on women to divorce husbands,
and give females the right to inheritance.22 Then, Islamic fundamentalism grew in political power
and the progress that was being made started to decline. The liberal ideas and interpretations
were replaced with traditional, conservative views. The fundamentalists wanted sexual
segregation, women to have to stay in the homes being housewives, to rid of both genders having
access to education, and prohibit birth control and abortion. This resulted in women losing all
equality and any reforms were abolished.23 Many women in the East followed these
fundamentalists, supported their actions because they believed that being equal to men and
19 "19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote," National Archives and Records
Administration, http://www.archives.gov/historical docs/document.html?
doc=13&title.raw=19th+Amendment+to+the+U.S.+Constitution:+Women%27s+Right+to+Vote.

20 "ThisNation.com--The U.S. Congress Quick Facts," ThisNation.com--The U.S. Congress Quick Facts, May 10,
2014, accessed May 10, 2014, http://www.thisnation.com/congress-facts.html.

21 "Parliament and Women," UK Parliament, accessed May 11, 2014, http://www.parliament.uk/women.

22Elizabeth Mayerann, "Law and Women in the Middle East | Cultural Survival," Law and Women in the Middle
East | Cultural Survival, accessed May 08, 2014, http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/lawand-women-middle-east.

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having freedom were connected to the West in negative ways. The women believed equality
would lead to a decline in morals and social ruin.24
Women in the East should be taught that they deserve rights and equality; that there is
nothing wrong with being in control of ones life; women should have the right to decide what
she wants to do with her life and not have to settle for what some else thinks would be best for
her. This recognition of equality, the desire for rights, will only be achieved once women are
educated. Many people in the East, including women, believe it is useless for girls to receive an
education because her job is for her to be a wife and take care of the home.25
While believing education is useless for women may have been a common thought
centuries ago, it is now the twenty-first century and every person on the planet deserves an
education, to have a chance to make something of themselves. Laura Bush once said at the World
Economic Forum, Education can help children see beyond a world of hate and hopelessness to
one of unlimited opportunity. Education helps free the mind from ignorance and bigotry.
Education unleashes the creative contributions of every citizen, to improve their own lives and to
build the common good. Education benefits all, and education should be available to all.26 She
is correct. Within America every man, women, boy, girl, child, adult, has the luxury of an
23 Elizabeth Mayerann, "Law and Women in the Middle East | Cultural Survival," Law and Women in the Middle
East | Cultural Survival

24 Elizabeth Mayerann, "Law and Women in the Middle East | Cultural Survival," Law and Women in the Middle
East | Cultural Survival

25 Carolyn W. Woo, "Growth Opportunity: The Importance of Supporting Women in Developing Nations,"
Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2013, accessed March 11, 2014, http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA348313666&v=2.1&u=cove19574&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w.

26 "Mrs. Bush Delivers Remarks at the World Economic Forum," Mrs. Bush Delivers Remarks at the World
Economic Forum, accessed May 12, 2014, http://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050521-2.html.

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education, it is the United States law that every child attend school. Ninety-nine percent of the
United States population is literate and each person goes to school for an average of twelve years
(excluding college).27 Within the Middle East alone forty-two percent of the women over fifteen
are illiterate and twenty-two percent of the males are illiterate; that is fifty thousand and fifty
seven women and twenty-six thousand six hundred seventy-one men who are incapable of
reading.28 It is not only women who are at a disadvantage here. Millions of people are suffering
due to a lack education. Educating not only the women, but the men also, would lead to an
economic increase and poverty decrease along with helping improve the government and the
lives of people within the country. The people of the Middle East need to be education because
education is the only way to rid the people of oppression as well as improve the standings of the
government.
Poverty has prevented many women from receiving the help they need. Of the one and a
half people living off less than one dollar a day, seventy percent of those people are women.
Women who work in developing countries often face low wages, no unions for help or support,
and terrible working conditions.29 Those who can work are often paid less than the men and tend
to have a harder time getting loans from banks due to their inability to own land. Many of the
women work long hours with no job security and many health hazards because they say it

27 "United States Education Stats: NationMaster.com," NationMaster.com,, accessed May 12, 2014,
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/United-States/Education.

28 "Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa,"
Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa, accessed May
12, 2014,
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Reports/2003/EmpoweringWomenDevelopingSocietyFemaleEducationintheMiddle
EastandNorthAfrica.aspx.

29 Nivedita Vaidya, "Women's Rights in the World: Overview," ABC-ClIO, 2006, , accessed March 2, 2014

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relieves them from social and cultural expectations that have been placed upon them.30 Even in
America women are at disadvantage in the working world. In 2012, on average women earned
six hundred and ninety one dollars while men earned eight hundred and fifty-four dollars per
week. That year there were sixty-two million four hundred and thirteen thousand women in the
working field who were twenty-five or older. Of those women, twenty-three point three percent
had their high school diploma, seventeen point five percent had some college, twelve point seven
percent had a bachelors degree and thirty-seven percent had a doctors degree or higher.31 This
means that sixty-eight percent of women twenty-five or older had finished high school and fifty
percent had gone to college. These educated women still make less than men, who have the same
level of education.
In America, one of the most popular and controversial topics is abortion, the womans
right to control what happens to her body. There are laws set in place that state when a woman
can abort her fetus, which vary from each state. North Dakota has a law passed that once a
heartbeat is detectable the fetus is now a living human and no abortion can take place.32 Arkansas
also has this law and Ohio is one of the best states to live for pro-life people, people who are
against abortions. In many states such as Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Montana,
Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Idaho, and North Carolina there is law that requires women who are
raped to wait until their case is proven before they can have an abortion, because the fetus is used
30 Karen L. Kinnear, "Women in the Developing World and Work," ABC-CLIO's World History:
Modern Era, accessed March 2, 2014.

31 "Latest Annual Data," Women's Bureau (WB), , accessed May 14, 2014,
http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/recentfacts.htm#full.

32 John Eligon and Erik Eckholm, "New Laws Ban Most Abortions in North Dakota," The New York Times,
March 26, 2013, accessed May 14, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/us/north-dakota-governor-signsstrict-abortion-limits.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Searchion=searchResults&mabReward=

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as evidence of the rape. Other states have laws where the rapist can even be granted custody or
visitation rights of the child. 33 There is much debate over whether or not abortion is right and
many religions have fought against the passing of bills to legalize abortion, but many women still
have a say in the end whether they are pro-choice or not.
Womens say in abortion in the East is an entirely different topic of discussion. The
women do not have access to places where they can safely receive abortions. Many of the
abortions that take place in the Middle East are unsafe and done by those who do not possess the
skills to do the abortion safely. In fact, one and a half million abortions that took place in the
Middle East in 2003 were unsanitary and unsafe. Eleven percent of the deaths that take place in
the Middle East are due to risky abortions.34 There has also been a large increase in female infant
deaths; families will kill any female infants because daughters are often seen as useless and of no
help to the family. The United Nations Childrens Fund once stated that a million infant girls
were killed each year because they were female.35 This has led to there being a huge gender gap
in some countries, along with thousands of mothers being killed because of abortions done
incorrectly. In America, most girls have access to birth control. They go to the doctor and see if it
would be healthy for their bodies to take the pill. While in Iran, birth control is illegal. Iran has
the greatest decrease in fertility rates since 1980, causing the government to aim for a bigger
33 Katy Hall, "Worst States For Pregnant Rape Victims (INFOGRAPHIC)," The Huffington Post, January 26,
2013, , accessed May 14, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/pregnant-rapeabortion_n_2552183.html

34 Rasha Dabash, "Abortion in the Middle East and North Africa," Abortion in the Middle East and North Africa,
accessed May 14, 2014, http://www.prb.org/Publications/Reports/2008/abortion-mena.aspx.

35 Nivedita Vaidya, "Women's Rights in the World: Overview," ABC-ClIO, 2006, accessed March 2, 2014, http
%3A%2F%2Fissues.abc-clio.com%2FSearch%2FDisplay%2F1098050%3Fterms%3Dwomen%2527s%2Brights
%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bworld.

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population one hundred and fifty to two hundred million people increase. 36 Not only do the
women have access to unsafe abortions, the government has now taken away birth control, which
could have also protected them from unwanted pregnancies. The government is hurting these
women by preventing them from proper medical services that could immensely help them.
The debate on womens rights has been going on for centuries, dating all the way back to
the 1600s, yet women around the world still lack access to health care, education, basic rights,
and in some places equality. The Western and Eastern hemispheres keep clashing cultures, trying
to decide who is right, when in reality it is up to each individual person to decide what they want
out of life. No one has the right to tell others what to believe or what not to believe because
nobody can be one hundred percent correct about anything. It is up to the society to change and
for the governments to help set guidelines for these new societal rules. Not only womens
equality, but equality for every human being on the planet needs to be accepted worldwide, no
amount of fighting or debating or law passing can change that.

36 Robert Tait, "Iran Scraps Birth Control Programme in Baby Boom Bid," The Telegraph, August 02, 2012,
accessed May 14, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9446882/Iran-scraps-birthcontrol-programme-in-baby-boom-bid.html.

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