The role of women in society is multifaceted and varies greatly depending on a variety of factors including society and even personal preferences.
Looking back at the mediaeval times for instance, women had little to no rights. They had their husbands and jobs chosen for them and one can only imagine getting entangled for life with a person you probably despise. Only a handful of women had a degree of liberty and as you would guess, this liberty was attained courtesy of the men in their lives.
Now, one could clearly say that things have changed. While there has been significant progress in advancing gender equality and women's rights in many parts of the world, there is still so much work to be done.
I can remember vividly the last encounter I had with an alpha male(or whatever he called himself). With no form of courtesy or sympathy, the young man worked up to me and the first thing he said was..
“You are one of them who are fighting for gender equality right?” Without waiting for my response he went ahead to say “go ahead and carry this”. I looked down at the load weighing about 120kg which he prompted me to carry and wondered where my famished-self was going to get the strength.
Basically, a lot of people mistake the true essence of what gender equality means. A majority of men are always too vainglorious when such a topic is brought up so they go ahead to hold mindless grudges.
Nonetheless, women play diverse roles across different spheres in contemporary society. To many, this is a horrific thing and to others, it's progress. I believe that women do not just have “one” clear role today in society. Women have a variety of roles to play as a means of supporting and keeping the society in one piece. To answer the second question for this week, I would be stating three major roles of women in no particular order.
Educators.
There was a time where women weren't even allowed to get an education as education was specially reserved for the male children.
However, women are now involved in education at all levels, serving as teachers, professors, mentors, and even administrators. The beautiful thing is that women have effortlessly fit into this role because they are naturally instructors.
Care.
One role women have maintained from the beginning of time is caregiving. Women often take on primary caregiving responsibilities within families, providing emotional support and care for everyone around them; both the sick and well individuals. This unpaid care is absolutely invaluable to society.
Community Building.
Women play active roles in building and strengthening communities through social support, volunteering, organizing and overseeing events which help to foster connection amongst community members. I say this because without all these social gatherings and get-togethers, society would be filled with a bunch of people who know nothing about each other.
To reiterate, the roles of women cannot be pinpointed as their role spans across various aspects of life. They may not recognize it now but the little contributions they make each day goes a very long way.
All images used belong to me and were taken with my mobile device except stated otherwise.
Love🤍