Women from 1500s onward



Women from 1500s onward

By: Banana

Women in Europe, and later, U.S.

In medieval Europe, women could only participate in church as nuns

- witch-hunts (late 1500s - 1600s), many women were killed

- showed tensions between popular religion and traditional beliefs

- women used by bourgeoisie & nobility to increase family’s status and wealth

- status very closely linked to husbands or fathers

- could rule in some countries

- women of high status were more repressed but had higher standard of living

- some widows had land and properties

- marriages not arranged (only those of wealthy), later than other countries (b/c save $ for dowry)

- late marriage ( low birthrate ( limited family size

- some unmarried mothers had to abandon child, forced women into brothels (prostitution)

- women in Europe had relatively more privileges than other regions

- some were painters, writers, musicians; literacy rates highest in Europe

- still couldn’t go to school, join guilds, get into most jobs

During the Enlightenment

- women were very important in spreading ideas

- bought books, discussed, contributed by writing, arguing women rights, meeting held at salons

- women stormed Versailles b/c of bread prices

- under Robespierre rule, women lost power (the ones who had helped progress revolution)

During the Industrial Revolution

- at the beginning, women continued to work mainly at home, on the farm, or in textile mills

- earned ⅓ or ½ less than men

- some began to manage business or participate in family’s

- after a while, society tried to confine women to homes and domestic life

- some resisted; Mary Wollstonecraft wrote Vindication of the rights of Woman (1792)

- Women’s Rights Convention @ Seneca Falls, NY (1848)

- called for economic independence, legal rights (esp. vote), better conditions at work

- Canadian women had to get doctorates in US, Argentina & Uruguay were first in Latin America to give women public education (late 1800s)

- most progress in careers that affected men the least (teaching)

- more and more women were working outside home

“Victorian Age”

- men and women in “separate spheres”, distinct and strict gender roles

- women stayed at home, ran household and family’s social life

- hard in middle class, had to work a lot (but had servants and new technology)

- raised children, very involved with their education and upbringing, girls educated differently

- young women could work (in stores, offices) till they married

- some schools for higher education for women in US

- less in Europe, could only teach till they got married

- working class women had to work and take care of household

- textiles, domestic service, raise children ( very hard lives

- young girls were expected to contribute to family

- some laws passed regulating hours for women and banned them from harsh labor

- married women had to stay at home and earn income

- later, women like Clara Zetkin, Emma Goldman, etc called for liberation of women

- After WWI (1920s)

- women got more rights (to vote (New Zealand 1st))

- participated in social reforms, promotion of birth control, abortion

- ex: Jane Addams, Margaret Sanger

- After WWII

- women allowed in more jobs (that were once men’s)

- some men opposed and took them away ( labor shortage

Americas

In Spanish America and Brazil, much of a woman’s privileges depended on male’s status

- courts sometimes interfered to keep slave couples together

- most slaves were male (twice as much males imported as females)

- women made up majority of the three labor gangs on plantations

- nursing moms took baby with them to fields

- low life expectancy b/c hard for women to work and be pregnant, harsh conditions

- some slave women who had relationships w/ planters were freed

Islamic countries

- more women and children taken to be slaves (b/c they were more docile, less likely to rebel)

- rarely seen in public, rooms at home (anderun/harem) separate from rest of family’s

- in some cases, women were very active in urban real estate (sold inherited shares of land)

- could keep late after marriage

- could testify in court (though word not as regarded as men’s)

- had to wear clothes that completely covered arms, legs, and hair

- only old or slave women were seen often in public

Ottoman Empire

- during Tanzimat reforms, men were given right, but women weren’t

- less opportunities for women, not allowed to work in factories and other jobs

- “women’s work” done by men or machines

- did gain more power in early 1800s (through fixed shares of inheritance)

- had own personal wealth uncontrolled by husband

- however, this practice was ended in 1820s and 30s

Iran

- under Shah Pahlavi, women allowed education, and to work

- after the Iranian Revolution, women were strictly repressed, had to cover their entire body

China

- Cixi became empress, though she was corrupt, caused decentralization

- Mao promoted equality of women

India

- British abolished sati, female infanticide, and laws against females divorcing (1800s)

- colleges opened for women, ex: Bethune College

Africa

- white women didn’t participate in beginning of colonization, only after peace is established

- some were kind to their servants, but always subordinate to men

- African women were captured

- some became traders, or owners of livestock

- “women work” were only available to men

Russia

- Soviet women allowed into some industries and professions

- during war, many women took the place of men in factories and jobs (same in the west)

In the end…

- women conferences: “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women”

- criticism of Eastern ways (Muslim)

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