Equal Rights for Women

Name Institution

nCourse

nEqual Rights for Women

nIntroduction

nMargaret Fuller offered alternative perspective with regard to approaches of thinking and discussing about gender as well as womens roles. Her efforts in literature work such as The Great Lawsuit suggest that women are equal to men especially in relationships particularly in marriage, and they possess same intellectual capacity. Secondly, she also believed that girls and boys should get equal education rights (Fuller, 10). Thirdly, she advocated that women should seek any employment opportunity they wish instead of stereotyping on feminine roles. Women in 19th century faced several hurdles such as discriminatory laws in marriage, denial of education rights and restrictions in employment some of which are still practiced in contemporary society.

nIn marriage many women are not ‘free and independent relative to men. Furthermore, marital relationships provide inequalities which works against women. Women are denied right to own property, lack of ability to make their own decisions and lack of fair treatment and recognition in marriage institution. The societal perspectives determine how women rights are provided in marriage (Fuller, 12). Margaret Fuller questioned the male partners ability to fully see their wife as equal intellectual partners. In her book The Great Lawsuit, she explained that there is need to reformat the institution of marriage so that women are treated as equal partners in marriage. In the modern institution of marriage, women are treated as junior partners who have no right to question men. This limits the abilities of women in a relationship because their potentials are not embraced. Women who are intellectually prominent are limited in their work as a result of traditions governing marriage.

nThe role of a woman in some societies is to bear children, and to take care of the children and the family. In addition, women are regarded as intellectually inferior as compared to men who are intellectual giant (Fuller, 35). In many developing countries, young girls face risk of early marriage before the age of 16 year. Early marriage is associated with high maternal mortality rate, domestic violence, increased vulnerability to HIV infections and social isolation. Early pregnancies are the leading cause of deaths of girls between the ages of 15- 19 years. This not only limits their chances to pursue their education but also increases economic dependency.

nWomen are usually denied equal right to education. In some society education for girl child is not a priority while boys are encouraged to advance in their education. Margaret Fuller believed that women and men shared the equal intellectual power hence there should be no discrimination with regard to education (Fuller, 48). In some societies, the girl child is considered academic dwarf hence she is limited in some areas in education system. Stereotypes exist against women who pursue courses such as science and mathematics that are considered as masculine courses. Some education institution advocate subjects such as humanities to women.

nDuring their developmental stages girls faces many disadvantages during adolescence. In developing countries girls before the age of 18 years are married which reduces the chances of advancing in their education (Freedman, 27). Besides, girls at adolescence stage risk forced marriages in from their parents hence unable to pursue their dreams in education. In addition, although two thirds of girls in developing nations are not married, they usually bear the burden of domestic responsibilities. They are subjected to domestic chores such as caring their sibling that consume significant amount of their time which could be used in education (Freedman, 34). Furthermore, girls are likely to suffer violence from school in their adolescence while in school. There are increased cases of sexual abuse against girls in school from male teachers and older boys in developing countries.

nMany studies in Bangladesh have documented that 4 out of 12 girls aged between 13 and 16 years had been victims of sexual violence. Out of these 2 in 4 reported that sexual violence occurred while they were on their way to school or at school. This clearly shows that education institutions have not instituted safe access to education for both boys and girls. Some parent may also see a school as unsafe for the girls hence they decide to keep girls at home or forced marriage as the best alternative for their protection.

nThere should be equality of employment opportunity for both men and women. Fuller believed that women should be allowed to seek employment they wished rather than limiting them to stereotypical female roles (Fuller, 56). In the contemporary society, women are discouraged from seeking employment from senior job positions. In addition, some organisations discourage women from holding top management because they have stereotypes that limit women from being top managers in the organisations.

nBesides women face major challenges when they seek employment in job positions that are predominantly held by men. For instance in Saudi Arabia, culture limits women in employment as they are not allowed to seek employment as engineers (Freedman, 29). In addition, it is illegal for a woman in Saudi to drive thus limiting her rights. Saudi women are encouraged to seek employment in job positions such as nursing or teaching since they are believed to be caretakers. Jobs that require technical skills such as engineering and technology are reserved for men.

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nWorks cited

nFreedman, Jeri. Women In The Workplace. 1st ed. New York: Rosen Pub., 2010. Print.

nFuller, Margaret. Woman In The Nineteenth Century. 1st ed. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1999. Print.