Author: Andre Coleman

Introduction

Sociologists disagree over what poverty actually is. In this essay I aim to discuss and criticise Seebohm Rowntree’s theory from 1899 -1950 then I will discuss and criticise, Peter Townsend’s theory. The next section will be to discuss and criticise, Mack and Lansley’s theory, and the ideas of Herbert Spencer (social Darwinism) There will then be a discussion of regressive and progressive taxation and an explanation of Marslands theory. Finally I will explain and criticise, John Wetergaard and Henrietta Resler’s arguement that there is a myth surrounding the welfare state. This myth is that the welfare state is progressive and redistributes from the rich to the poor.

Poverty and Seebohm Rowntree

In the time of Queen Elizabeth the first it was people’s duty to help alleviate poverty. They did this by feeding the poor and visiting the sick and trying to ensure that people were not destitute. After the Reformation things changed and laws were passed to regulate the amount that was spent on the poor. In 1601 the Elizabethan Poor Law was passed and made provision for “the setting of the poor on work”^[1] The Poor Law also said that the poor were responsible for caring for each other. Overseers were appointed in every area to decide how much poor relief would be needed. In the amended Poor Law of 1834 overseers knew the circumstances of the poor in their are and those who were considered lazy would not get much help. These amendments to the Poor Law gave those in power a greater degree of control over the lives of the poor.

In the 1860s, Joseph Rowntree, Seebohm Rowtree’s father conducted two studies into poverty.^[2] This led Seebohm Rowntree to later conduct his own study which was published in 1901. He made an early distinction between primary and secondary poverty – a distinction which sociologists still use today. Primary poverty meant that a family did not have enough money coming in to cover the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Secondary poverty was where families earned enough but spent their money on things other than the basic necessities. So some spending was regarded as alright while other spending was seen as wasting money, on drink for example. He believed that wages should be increased because then people would be well fed and healthy and would be an efficient workforce. He raised the wages of workers at his own company and said that businesses who refused to do this should be closed down as they were doing the country no favours. His second study which he carried out in the 1930s was published as “Progress and Poverty in 1941.” He argued in this study that the main cause of poverty was unemployment, the conclusions of his report influenced the founding of the welfare state.

Although Seebohm Rowntree did a lot to further the cause of the poor and to point out the causes of poverty. His remarks about primary and secondary poverty, while still influential today, were typical of those in power. That is to say they carried the message that the poor were irresponsible and needed to be told how to spend the money that they had earned.

Peter Townsend – Poverty as a Social Problem

Townsend (1979) has defined poverty in the following way:

“Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diets, participate in the activities and have the living conditions which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies to which they belong.” Townsend(1979:31).

Townsend’s work makes it quite clear that poverty is not just a lack of money but encompasses things other than strictly material needs. Those who are poor often live in poorer areas with badly performing schools and poor housing. This often results in ill health. Townsend said that there were two types of poverty, relative poverty and absolute poverty. Research undertaken for the Rowntree Foundation (Howarth et al,1999) found that in local authority housing more than two thirds of the heads of those households were not in paid work and since 1991 there has been an increase of 40% in the number of local authority areas with above average mortality rates. Absolute poverty is not really seen in the west.

In underdeveloped countries people are often denied thenecessities e.g. food and shelter which maintain existence. Giddens (2001:311) argues that the idea of absolute poverty is grounded in ‘subsistence’. Anyone without sufficient food, shelter and clothing could be said to be living in absolute poverty. One of the ways in which absolute poverty is measured is by the poverty line which is based on the price of goods in a given society that humans need for survival. Those who cannot afford these goods live in poverty.

Not everyone agrees with this and the idea of absolute poverty is highly contested because the use of a single criterion fails to take into account the differences between societies. Needs are not the same in all societies, or even in the same society, nutritional needs are different for people working in different jobs, a labourer for example may need more calories than a bank clerk. Drewnowski and Scott (1966)^[3] argue that absolute poverty should also include a lack of cultural needs. This is often argued over because a fixed standard on such needs is bound to fail. These people are more interested in relative poverty.

Relative poverty looks at peoples incomes and compares them to a national average. Relative poverty means that people are living in poverty when their life is compared to those of the average family this is because lack of income also means poorer housing. People who live in relative poverty usually live in deprived areas also. Since 1979 increased unemployment and a rise in benefit payments and earnings that are index linked to prices rather than wages, has resulted in a huge rise in the number of people living in relative poverty.^[4] In a report inThe British Medical Journal (2000) the writer looked at absolute and relative child poverty in developed countries where some peoples incomes were more than fifty percent lower than the average. It also said that in the league table of relative child poverty one of the four bottom places was held by the UK.

An article in the Daily Telegraph (27/08/02) says that the idea of relative poverty is a problem. The article suggests that instead of using household income as the regulator it might be better if statisticians calculated the prices of basic goods and services. Under the present system the rich were becoming richer and the poor were paying for it in increased taxes and a lack of services. Another approach to measuring relative poverty is through people’s perceptions of the necessities of life which is what Mack and Lansley did.

Mack and Lansley

The work of Mack and Lansley (1985, 1992) listed those things that were considered to be necessary to modern day life if a person was not living in poverty. They did two studies on relative poverty in the UK. Mack and Lansley carried out an opinion poll to find out what people thought were the necessities of modern day life. There were twenty six things that most people considered important these things included new clothes, heating, a bath and indoor toilet. Relative poverty was thus measured by the presence or absence of the things that had been listed. Mack and Lansley’s research found that the number of people living in poverty in the 1980s went up quite a bit, this poverty was defined by the lack of three or more of the basic necessities mentioned earlier. Between 1983 and 1990 when the two studies were undertaken the number of people who were living in poverty went up from 7.5 million to 11 million and the number of those living in severe poverty or who were lacking more than 7 of the items that were considered essential, went up from 2.6 to 3.5 million (Mack and Lansley, 1992). Poverty is also defined by how far people can afford to participate in social activities such as school trips. In recent years this has been called social exclusion. Social exclusion does not look at poverty just in terms of a lack of material things. It looks at the wider picture and this includes wheter people are able to participate in society.

There are no clear ways of measuring poverty. Absolute and relative poverty are both complex and ways of measuring what it is to be poor, and not everyone agrees on them. Policy makers say what poverty is and then make laws for it but few of them experience what it is to be poor. A report published by the Rowntree foundation says that what the poor have to say needs to be taken into consideration in research on poverty. Taking into account the opinions of those who actually lived in poverty would provide useful information for existing organisations that might help shape policy making in the long term.^[5] In all this there is a feeling that the poor are somehow to blame for the circumstances in which they find themselves. A point which Herbert Spencer writing in the nineteenth century would have agreed with.

As far as Spencer was concerned people lived in poverty as a result of dissolute living. He had no sympathy at all for the poor and regarded many of them as criminals and drunks. He believed it was unnatural to help people who lived in poverty as a result of their own behaviour and irresponsibility. If people were too lazy to work then they should not be allowed to eat. He believed that the cause of poverty could be found by an examination of the moral character of an individual. The Poor Laws were wrong because they encouraged the poor to be lazy and to rely on somebody else’s hard work to provide them with the necessities of life. This allowed moral decline to spread through the population. The result would be that both society and the economy would suffer. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century thought was heavily influence by Darwins work “ The Origins of the Species” and Spencer was no exception. He believed in Darwin’s idea of the survival of the fittest. Society could only evolve properly and morally if the honest and hard working members of society were allowed to keep the fruits of their labour. The week and lazy members of society should be condemned to live in poverty because that was what they deserved. Falling into poverty was a necessary evil in society because without poverty work would not exist.

Although this may seem repugnant to a lot of people Spencer’s ideas are still rife in modern society. Peter Golding (1978) has said that media reporting of poverty in the nineteen seventies portrayed the poor as welfare scroungers living off the backs of others. The press portrayed people as having a comfortable existence living off social security at the expense of tax payers.

The New Right

The Conservative Government headed by Margaret Thatcher were voted into power in 1979. Political debates of the time were concerned with a free market economy versus the welfare state. The tory government brought in measures to roll back the welfare state and control spending. This was done through the introduction of marketing and business strategies into policy making. At the same time there was an intense process of privatization because it was thought that public ownership of companies, and the public sector worked against market forces. Introducing marketing principles into social care allowed the Governments to in theory improve services. It also enabled them to retain a greater degree of control. Giddens (2001) says that:

…the momentum of Thatcherism in economic matters was maintained by the privatising of public companies…..(this)..is held to reintroduce healthy economic competition in place of unwieldy and ineffective public bureaucracies, reduce public expenditure and end political interference in managerial decisions (Giddens, 2001:434).

The introduction of market forces into social care was considered the best method of Government spending because free markets were considered to be self organising (Olssen 2000).They thought this would increase productivity and improve care and be cost efficient. Government discourses, both Conservative and New Labour have revolved around the notion that the introduction of market mechanisms would result in a more equitable system benefiting all. However, Alcock (1994) says that the Conservative policies resulted in greater unemployment, a rise in the number of homeless people, and a general growth in social inequality. Marsland (1996) disagrees and says that in Britain poverty has been exaggerated.

David Marsland

Marsland says that the Rowntree foundation deliberately confuse poverty with inequality and that they exaggerate the amount of poverty in Britain. He says that who say poverty is increasing act out of their own self interest because the evidence is not examined impartially. He does not believe in relative poverty but says that in order to truly be poverty it has to be absolute and this is disappearing from Britain because of the increase in living standards that has come about through capitalism. He is also critical o universal welfare provision i.e. those benefits such as education which are available to everyone regardless of their income as he believes they create a dependency culture. Marsland (1989) believes that relying on the government to take care of the people results in an abdication of personal responsibility and welfare hand outs are just another reason for remaining unemployed.

Jordan (1989) says that Marsland is wrong in what he says about universal welfare provision creating a dependency culture and that if such a culture exists it is targeted with means tested benefits that only the very poor get. Rather than poverty being the result of an over generous welfare system, Jordan says that it comes from one that is too mean.

Westergaard and Resler (1976) argue that the welfare state does not make the distribution of wealth more equal. Poverty is not being eradicated. Any money or benefits that the working class receive will eventually be paid back in tax by themselves. They believe that the welfare state is simply another tool of capitalism and poverty exists because of that system which prevents poor people from obtaining the resources to stop being poor. In Westergaard’s view the policies of the eighties and nineties and the hold that market forces had over Britain meant that even the aim of redistributing wealth through the welfare state had been abandoned. Kincaid says that it is not just a matter of rich and poor it is the fact that some people are very rich while some are very poor. Poverty therefore is a result of the capitalist system. However, such theories do not really explain why some people become poor nor do they differentiate between poor working class and other members of that class. So we have plenty of theories but no real solutions.

Conclusion

This essay has looked at different theories of poverty. Seebohm Rowntree in the nineteenth century who wanted to improve the lives of the poor and believed that increased wages would change things. Herbert Spencer on the other hand believed the opposite. He thought it was wrong to help the poor and believed that if people were hard working and honest then they should keep all of the money they had earned. Some people were born to be richer than others, it was the survival of the fittest. Peter Townsend distinguished between absolute and relative poverty but relative poverty is not easy to define and is still being contested. Even Macky and Llansley’s work on relative poverty does not solve the problem.

New Right approaches have contributed to the problems of poverty but Marxist criticisms do not provide answers as to who the poor really are or how they became that way. Clearly this is not an easy question. Howver, if we look back at the definitions of absolute poverty then we can say that this type of poverty does not really exist in Britain today.

Bibliography

Giddens, A. 2001. (4^th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press.

Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman.

Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html

Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin.

Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television.

Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf

O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. “One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.” BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ).

The Daily Telegraph 27^th August 2002

Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin.

Giddens, A. 2001. (4^th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press.

Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman.

Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html

Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin.

Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television.

Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf

Olssen, M. 2000 “Ethical liberalism, education and the New Right” Journal of Educational Policy Vol 15No. 5 2000 pps 481-508

O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. “One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.” BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ).

The Daily Telegraph 27^th August 2002

Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin.

Sociological Review

1

This assignment is going to discuss the roles and purpose of British welfare state. This assignment will look at what welfare state is and the problems which society faced in the past century about the poor people. Also, the first administrative unit of Britain alongside with how poor law passed and the beverage report.

This assignment is based on roles and purpose of welfare state. The United Kingdom welfare state was established in 1942 by William Beverage due to the Second World War which caused social problems to the British citizens. The Government stepped forward as to provide for its people by introducing Welfare State as a way of controlling these problems. Welfare state is a response to social problems whereby government undertakes the responsible to safeguard the health and well-being of its people, particularly those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, and other benefits( Lutz Leistering and Robert Walker 1998). It is based on the principals of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth and public responsibilities of people that lack provision for a good life.

The origin of the welfare state was from the 16th century. Britain expected the worst when the Second World War broke up in 1939. Due to war many people were affected by poverty and many lost their jobs which resulted in high unemployment. The majority of the people were living in overcrowded poor housing facilities such as (slums) because council houses were not enough. Diseases were spreading because of lack of clean water, and sick people could not have money to seek treatment and this resulted in many people dying. Due to these events the government policy brought a change towards the care that was provided for the people. Welfare legislation was developed to make sure that everyone had access to quality of life due to the world war.

Elizabeth government realised that they would create some system to support people. Parish was the first basic administrative unit in Britain to take responsibility for the people who were poor and also power to force people to pay a local tax to help the poor. People who could not work such as old people and disabled were provided with accommodation in parish houses and also given money called the ‘outdoor relief’. However, this caused an impact on the increase of the cost of poor relief. The outdoor relief pay which was given to the poor over in hard times and was regarded as encouraging workers to remain inactive undermining the 19th century principles of thrift and hard work (Frohman, 2008). It was also argued that that the poor law encouraged the growth of poverty.

In 1834 a new Poor Law was introduced. People assumed that it would reduce the cost of looking after the poor and they welcomed it. People thought that beggars were going to be taken off the streets and for those people who were poor were going to be encouraged to work hard to support themselves. The new poor law help people to be independent; they should help themselves by making ends meet. The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses were the ones getting assistant in terms of clothes and food .Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day. The new poor law also help children who entered the work house to be educated it also ensure that the less privilege to get house in return.

In reaction, the poor law of 1834 introduced a poor relief which imposed the principle of’ less eligibility’. This new system act took a much harsher line towards help for the poor people whereby strict rules and regulations were put in place for people to follow (Harris, 2004). Families were separated and were not allowed to see each other. The Law stated that no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in a workhouse and the unemployed benefits was to be provided as a last resort. Conditions in the workhouse were intentionally made harsh, in the hope that the poor would seek work elsewhere.

In 20th century the poor law was gradually replaced by a new welfare state. During 1906 a liberal government was elected and introduce some reforms.1n 1908 an old age pension came to existence which allow pension to be given to people over 70’s, from 1925 pension were paid to men that is over 65 and to women over 60.

The national insurance act was passed in 1911 and all employees were made to contribute from their wage and the aim was to build and also for every worker who felt sick was entitled to free treatment were given to every worker that feel sick. The contributions were to help the workers in future in situations when they become ill or out of work.
In 1920 the scheme was extended to most people but not all work house became unnecessary and then poor law was abolished.p43 Social Policy & Welfare (2000) published by Stanely Thornes ltd. United kingdom

By Mark Walsh, Paul Stephens, Stephen Moore

In 1920 the scheme was extended to most people but not all work houses became unnecessary and then poor law was abolished.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

In 1941 an enquiry was established to plan how best to tidy up state welfare. Beveridge seized the opportunity, rewrote the script, and then redesigned the contours of British welfare. By accident the report of the publication of his report was delayed. When it was produced in November 1942 it followed hard on the heels of the Allies first major victory of World War Two. Although largely a creation of ideas including Beveridge’s which had been around for some time, it was the blueprint for successful to tackle social problems such as the five giants.

In 1942 William beverage prepared a report called the Beveridge report regarding the welfare of the individuals on how the government could help people in poverty and also to reduce inequality. This report focused on how Britain could be rebuilt after the war and also how the government should find ways of fighting the five ‘Giant Evils’ of ‘Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. The government was committed to provide care for the people of Britain to ensure that everyone had quality of life. The 1942 beveridge report started in the introduction of welfare state, and involved the main changes and these included the national health service act of 1945 which make benefit available to children and families and the National insurance act this act provides unemployment and sickness some benefits and housing The welfare state was not a response to poverty but was produced to encourage the provision of services for the public. Implementing Beveridge was immediately seen as part of winning the peace and also served as the blue print for the British welfare state.

In 1945 labour was elected and promised to introduce a welfare state. The welfare state involved introducing new services these included family allowances, the (Laybourn, 1995) this is where a major criticism lies within debates regarding the welfare state within current governments. The government introduced the Education Act 1944 which tackled lack of schooling. The 1946 National Health Act was concerned with improving the quality of health among the population. The 1946 National Insurance Act was created to cover all personal risks such as unemployment and illness.1948 labour government extended the social security and a program of free medical care, Housing, Education and the Welfare of the Children. The National Assistance Act 1948 means- tested for people in lower income below a standard set by government and for unemployed people. In the 1950’s the provision of welfare state services became problematic, government interventions at the time didn’t help and caused further problems so the Conservative government took over and cut the help given to the poor and sick. This then made the distribution of income more imbalanced and although attempted to make the poor more hardworking and self sufficient it didn’t work.

The rolling back the state was revolved around the need to cut public spending as a way of reducing impact on public affair. Thatcher (1979-97) promised to reduce taxes and to lower the level of public spending and less state intervention. Thatcher opposed a welfare system and the welfare state began to break down resulted in retreat for housing and pension. The Conservative changed the balance of welfare spending towards health and social security at the expense of education and housing. Thatcher revolution was less radical welfare spending remained stationary between the late 1970’s. Thatcher stated that welfare spending was weighing down the international competitiveness and also creating a ‘dependency culture’ which also was supported by the government and acted to cut back the welfare state (Clasen, 2003). They were some cut back in Housing such as in building, maintenance and subsidization as a way of driving up local authority rent levels (Maclennan and Gibb, 1990). In Social Security welfare bills were introduced by cutting entitlements such as Unemployment Benefit and people were pushed on to means-tested support (Clasen, 2003). Under Child Support Scheme absent parents were required to contribute towards the child maintenance as a way of serving some of the welfare state money.

When new labour came into office in 1997 welfare remained in the top priority. Regardless of Conservative critics of the welfare, new labour argued that new welfare policies were needed to improve poverty, inequality, health and education.

In conclusion the welfare state was developed due to the number of factors contributed by world war such as unemployment, sickness and poverty.

Do you think that Afghan nation from the outset needs only men to serve it? Before Islam, women were treated like slaves or property. Their personal consent concerning anything related to their well-being was considered unimportant, to such a degree that they were never even treated as a party to a marriage contract. Women were used for one purpose, and then discarded. They had no independence, could own no property and were not allowed to inherit. In times of war, women were treated as part of the prize. Their condition was unspeakable. In addition, the birth of a daughter in a family was not an occasion for happiness, but was regarded as embarrassment. The practice of killing female children was uncontrolled. With the arrival of Islam a verse came from the Quran criticizing those who practiced female infanticide: “And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision (An-Nahle 16:58-59).”

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where women are symbolized to all other countries. Afghan women’s current situation is not only the result of Taliban, but there exists a history over the centuries of Afghan women’s situation. Afghanistan is a country that lost all its economical infrastructures passing three decades of war, has been faced with Economical, Social and cultural problems. One of the major problems that Afghans are suffering is violence against women’s rights. Taking in to consideration that many activities have been accomplished since 2001 by international and governmental organizations but statistic show that problems have been remained and vast number of women are still suffering from violence. Many of women are deprived from education. A few women participate in political and social activities. As observed in Kabul, a woman suffers from violence every 30 minutes and 3% of women participate in governmental decision making activities. Only 11 percents of women were candidates in the 2010 parliamentary elections. Some of the challenging facts Afghan women faces in daily life are listed as following:

Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies during childbirth,

87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate,

30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan,

1 in every 3 Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual violence,

44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan, and

70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan (The Plight of Afghan Woman)

Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, many people would agree that the political and cultural position of Afghan women have improved substantially. The recently adopted Afghan constitution states that “the citizens of Afghanistan – whether man or woman- has equal rights and duties before the law”. So far, women have been allowed to return back to work, the government no longer forces them to wear the all-covering burqa, and they even have been appointed to top positions in the government. Although many people believe that women have equal rights to men, but Afghan women, especially in the rural areas of Afghanistan are not equally treated and their rights are violated. Women are not allowed to get education, women are forced into early age marriage and they have no right to work equally with men and take part in social activities.

In many societies today, especially in Afghanistan, a woman is only valued and considered important if she performs the functions of a man, while displaying her feminine attractions to the public. If women get involved in politics, they would stop marrying, having children, and the human race would greatly be affected. Women are emotional creatures, and incapable of making a sound political decision. Afghan men, Typically among Pashtun families, parents believe that their daughters going to school is an immoral act, such as: being friend with the boys and then claiming to marry with the boy of their own choice. They have the ideas saying that their daughters may adopt non-cultural behaviors at school, such as: changes in their clothing, adapting modern clothing and ways of thinking, which are not accepted in Afghan culture. In most afghan families, relatives and friends advise each others for not letting their daughters attend school. A girl is considered as a financial burden on her parents; therefore, parents give their daughters to men who are in their father’s age to receive marriage cost and lessen their home expenses. In the most provinces of Afghanistan, girls are sold to men without knowing a girl’s consent, and then these girls are used as labors by her husband and in-laws’ family for carrying physical loads of the whole family.

First, its known that education, especially for girls is among basic requirements for an improved life standard in any society, however 85 percents of women and girls are illiterate in Afghanistan. The United States of America International Aid (USAID) allocated fund to address this challenge that constitute the lowest educational level in the country, and girls are facing many problems in this area. Women’s education is a foundation for building women’s human capital and a requirement for their meaningful participation, effective leadership, and enjoyment equal of rights. Although, the women’s right to education is legally protected by law, the Afghan women have been long deprived of their right to education and still the participation of girls and women in various levels and fields of education is limited and they face numerous constraints. Access to equal education opportunity still is a dream for many women. Despite of educational improvements in recent years, women still face a number of obstacles in their way to education such as early marriage; restricted movement; cultural barriers, security, transport constraints, shortage of qualified female teachers especially in rural areas, poor school infrastructure and facilities and the lower value attached to girls’ and women’s education. In Afghanistan, the number of girls going to school is less than half the number of school boys and even in some provinces, like Zabul, this percentage is 3%; though the numbers of male and female populations aging between 6-18 year old don’t have a considerable difference. Another problem in terms of education in Afghanistan is the number of female schools including elementary and high schools that has decreased considerably. In Kandahar, for example, there are 255 elementary schools, whilst 20 high schools exist in the city. In central region of the country there are 256 elementary schools and only 27 high schools, which show unwillingness of girls to study (Commission). Nearly 1000 girls’ schools have been destroyed. Girls and teachers have been killed in a return of the Taliban reign of terror. Only 18% of Afghan women have skilled medical personnel present when they give birth (Feminism, Women’s Rights Articles & Issues).

In Paktia province last year, a shura of elders decided that a 25-year-old man who sexually abused a 7-year-old relative girl should pay compensation to the child’s family. They also decreed the girl should marry her rapist when she’s older (The Star). Due to fear of Taliban or local warlords, girls cannot go outside their homes. If they go to schools, they are burnt, acid is thrown on their faces, or Taliban kill their family members. Almost in all provinces of Afghanistan girls are sexually abused and harassed. Girls are kidnapped on their way to school. They are kidnapped for different purposes by the Taliban or local warlords, to make money by selling them or to use for smuggling, or marry them by force.

Second, forced marriages constitute the other serious problems of women in Afghanistan which is exercised on different ways and forms as to payment of huge dowry, underage marriage, engaging in the very early days when a child is born. Widows are still considered as a heritage and are not allowed to marry other man willingly. Forced marriage is considered to be one of the main cases of women rights violation in all over the country. For instance, only in Helmand Province 144 cases of forced marriage is registered by the Commission so far this year, mostly exercised as badal (girls’ exchange in families for marriage) and huge payment of dowry. In many parts of Afghanistan, marriages have taken place with threats by the powerful people, gunmen or in repayment for depts. Another reason considerably increases the number of early age marriages is the poverty in Afghan families.

Third, in Islam, the value and importance of women in society and the true measure of their success as human beings, is measured with completely different criteria: their fear of Allah (SWT) and obedience to Him, and fulfillment of the duties he has assigned them, particularly that of bearing, nurturing and teaching children. Islam is a practical religion, and responds to human needs and life situations. Many women need, or wish, to work for various reasons. For example, they may possess a needed skill, such as a teacher or a doctor. While Islam does not prohibit women working outside the home, it specifies that the following restrictions be followed to safeguard the dignity and honor of women and the purity and stability of the Islamic society. Muslim women are not forbidden from going out in the community, working, or visiting relatives and female friends, if there is no objection from their guardian/husband and they are covered and behave and speak according to Islamic guidelines and, if necessary, escorted by their Mahram (male relative). However, a woman’s home should be the main base that she works from. Allah (SWT) instructed the wife’s of the Prophet (SAW): “O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft in speech, lest he is whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy or evil desire for adultery, etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honorable manner. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and offer prayers perfectly (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah wishes only to remove Ar-Rijs (evil deeds and sins, etc.) from you, O members of the family [of the Prophet (SAW)], and to purify you with a thorough purification (Quran Al-Ahzab 33:32-33).”

Afghanistan’s social development can only be ensured through democracy and the reduction of poverty, the success of both being assured through full participation of women, especially in rural Afghanistan. Afghanistan has always had elite and middle-class women who asserted their rights and walked towards modernization. But a lot of most Afghan women in rural areas have been one of oppression through tribal customs and dictates. Women’s rights are human rights. They are not simply American, or western customs. They are universal values which we have a responsibility to promote throughout the world, and especially in a place like Afghanistan. It is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.

From a passive housewife to an active member of society – in times of social change, where are our women heading? So, what influenced the women in our society to change? With smiles on their faces and freshly cooked meals on the tables, they used to wait for their husbands to come back home from work. Their ambitions were centred on the marriage, fulfilment of the role of a proud housewife and devoted mother and the economic security that their husbands, the breadwinners, have provided them. But, in the past fifteen years, a woman’s path from an obeying housewife to an emancipated, independent and active member of society has been both, a cause and a reflection of social change in the UK.

Feminine mystique

Looking back to the past decade, there has been significant influences from the Women’s Liberation Movement that has tackled the traditional gender roles. America has not only brought the drive to invent the clever labour saving devices designed to liberate women from domestic drudgery, it has, also, introduced Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique to our British ladies. In this feminist classic of 1963 Friedan claimed:

“aˆ¦The women who grow up wanting to be just a housewife are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in concentration camps (Friedan in Fermaglich,2006,p.58).”

Her strong views of the women’s position in society have caused historians to charge her with carelessness, insensitivity and exaggeration. However, nobody could stop the raising assertiveness of women who claimed that the labour saving virtues of modern household technology were countered by an expansion of maternal duties and more exacting levels of cleanliness.

As feminists point out, for women of the 1950s in general, happiness was defined by a stereotyped view of the woman’s role as a homemaker and consequently, many women experienced social isolation. Women were expected to give up work once married and magazines such as Woman portrayed the image of a ‘perfect housewife’ as the social norm1 [0] . These high, and often impossible expectations are some of the causes that make the depressed housewife one of the more frequent visitors to the councillor’s office1 [1] .

Challenging the traditional values

With growing female dissatisfaction and frustration, the rise of feminism is quite understandable as many women have begun to question their image of domesticity in the sixties. The teenagers, in particular, have challenged their, rather prescribed roles and as the young girls have developed into women, they promoted more liberal attitudes. The rising female resilience towards social constrains have resulted in a union of British feminist movements. With their aim to promote equality between the genders, at the first National Women’s Liberation Conference held in 1970, they assertively demanded equal pay, free contraception and abortion on request, equal educational and job opportunities as well as free twenty-four-hour childcare [10] .

Betty Friedan had set up the National Organisation of Women in 1966The success of feminism in bringing about the legal changes cannot be denied. In the past decade, the passing of the Abortion Act 1967, Divorce Reform Act 1969 and Equal Pay Act 1970 [11] have made the women the main beneficiaries. However, the feminist conference and the four iconic demands took place after the government legislated in favour of women. This proves that some social injustices are still affecting women which are beyond the scope of legislation. These belong to the world of embedded prejudice among women as well as men. Even with their significant achievements, feminists still struggle to change the principal attitude at large – we are still witnessing social and moral restraints that many women, particularly single mothers, spinsters and divorcees face [12] .

Education was another useful tool by which girls’ expectations were manipulated. The universal secondary education and the expansion of universities in the 1960s facilitated admissions of women to higher education, but women felt frustrated that better jobs were still going to men even with their equal qualification [13] . Therefore, the emancipated, middle class girls have promoted the feminism as they benefited the most from the campaigns for equal rights. However, women from the lower classes have seen feminism as nothing more than the obsession of the middle class [14] as they did not feel the direct affects of the feminists urge for women’s liberation.

Girls work – girls shop!

Still, the most encouraging trend indicating the change in the society is that more women are working outside their homes. Nevertheless, researchers take 1961 as the critical point when, for the first time, it was the married women who dominated among the female workforce. As the figures have been steadily rising since then, historians and sociologists predict that we are heading in a way where by 1980 two thirds of all women at work will be married [15] .

The reasons and impacts of this trend cannot be ignored. While many women view work as an escape from the loneliness of their homes, the families where both parents are in work benefit from an increase in consumer power. With an extra income, there are opportunities for a holiday or purchase of a car [16] . Therefore, the higher standard of living is an inspiration for married women to work [17] and also, a persuasive argument for their husbands to accept the new trend. This change has largely transformed the old fashioned attitude of the 1950s where working women are portrayed as a threat by depriving men of their jobs [18] .

Combined with the increased family income and low figures of unemployment, new attitudes systematically led to a general increase in consumerism. Nevertheless, if all the reinforcement of feminism and the recent change in the law have caused Britain to ‘go girlie’, female natural affinities are not to be overseen. The fact is – girls shop! [19] .

Feminist propagandaThe new, liberating fashion for young women, mini skirts and see-through blouses, welcomed the beginning of the buy-and-throw-away consumer culture as we know it today. Even after the feminists criticised the new styles as a reinforcement of the new female stereotypes, relatively cheap clothes as designed by Biba have helped to create the concept of shopping as a leisure activity which has spread from young women to society at large [20] .

Apart from fashion, the challenging attitudes of the younger generation had an impact on society in many ways. Teenage girls embraced feminism as it complied with the rebellious nature of the youth culture who were urged not to accept tamely what they were told, but to make their own judgements [21] . This presents the biggest threat to the future of the old fashioned, traditionalist Britain and if by looking at our offspring we can draw predictions about our future, the feminists are the ones to celebrate.

Equal Pay – fact or a myth?

Families with both spouses in work contributed to an economic emancipation of society and allowed women to gain a degree of independence. But, less encouraging is that, in every occupation, employers restricted women to particular kinds of work, where they must accept low skilled and inferior jobs [22] . But, towards the end of the sixties, as the female workforce grew and women became generally more liberated, there was a growing attitude that discrimination was wrong [23] .

This injustice has inspired over eight hundred women, sewing machinists at Ford’s Dagenham factory to surprise the country with their strike for equal pay in 1968. Even after the striking women agreed to 92% of male wages, their actions, the support of the first female Secretary of State, Barbara Castle, and the urging of the feminists, have publicly highlighted the existence of the discrimination of women in the sixties. This has subsequently led to the reform and the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 [24] .

For most women, the feminist’s ideas about female fulfilment was alien and unrealistic, therefore, the majority regarded it as a movement of the affluent middle class [25] . But the sewing machinists proved that the there has been a change of attitudes in general as women from all social classes wanted better and more equal roles in the society.

Having afternoon tea with the Secretary of State – women of DagenhamBut, five years after the changes have been made in the law, employer’s discrimination still leaves the gender gap [26] . The types of jobs that traditionally belong to women, such as nursing, remain less paid than the ones dominated by men. The evidence of inequality between the genders is in brutally honest statistics – in the past ten years the salaries of women increased less rapidly on average than those of men. Today, average earnings of women is just a little more than half of those of men [27] .

However, the life stories of Yvonne Pope, the first women Air Traffic Controller in 1960 who has also earlier this year became the first women pilot and Annie Nightingale, the first woman on Radio One inspire many girls. Even while the debate about the principle ‘equal pay for equal work’ continues, these women, pioneers in the world of male employment give optimism to many young girls.

Working mothers, the pill, abortion on request: Is modern society exterminating us?

The defenders of a traditional, patriarchal family have made the link between the recent fall in birth rates and increases in female employment. Their accusing finger points to a direct causal effect of the women in work which subsequently strengthens the beliefs that women belong at home. This attitude is still embedded in society, although a report in 1963 denied any correlation between the two. Still, many women, even today, feel guilty when applying for jobs [28] .

While Penelope Mortimer and Margaret Drabble wrote articles in which they supported the traditionalist views by glorifying the position of women as mothers, feminists questioned the belief that women could only be fulfilled through motherhood [29] . They also campaigned for the right to family planning measures and the first effective contraception pill has undoubtedly become the feature of the decade. Even after officially going on sale in 1961, the turning point was in 1969 [30] when it became an available choice to all women regardless of their marital status. The feminist’s eight year long battle to make the pill available to everyone proves how effortful it was to change the traditional attitudes towards motherhood and sex.

The Pill was largely criticized by many, but probably the most disputed of the sixties reforms is the Abortion Act 1967 [31] . Even though it was illegal in the early sixties, the expensive West End clinics performed thousands of abortions a year. At the other end of the social scale, horrific back-street abortions with coat-hangers and unofficially trained clinicians were the main cause of avoidable maternal death [32] . Even so, abortion is strongly opposed by the Catholic Church who asserts how all life is sacred [33] and not even all feminists agreed with it [34] . However, the passing of the Abortion Act is, after all, a powerful indicator of the extent to which women had become more emancipated.

Decline in birth ratesVoluntary child bearing and the increase in divorce rates as a consequence of the passing of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 have all had a transforming effect on domestic life, the idea of home, and all the roles and functions of womanhood [35] . These play the important factors in producing smaller families as does increased family affluence which have made people choose their priorities with care. Even the modern architecture reinforces the trend towards smaller families – new houses are designed for families with only two or three children [36] .

So, where are our women heading?

When analysing social change, it is important to stress the diversity in aspirations of British women. Whether that is as a housewife or as a career woman, some are free to choose their lifestyle, but others are still constrained by the attitudes and norms of the society they live in. The changes in government policy extended women’s choices, but it remains to be seen if they have achieved the right balance between work and family. However, it is the social as well as economic circumstances which unavoidably leave some women more equal than others. In the future these issues will need to be addressed if women are to overcome the discrimination that still exists3 [7] . However, the promotion of equality between the genders by the younger generations indicate, not a revolution, but a slow evolution of a women’s role in British society.

After the accession of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said in 1970 Oman transformed from a rudimentary single economy that lacked all sorts of public amenities and modern infrastructure to a modern and diversified economy aided by the wise leadership of His Majesty. The availability of oil revenues and the importance given to education in the post 1970 period accelerated the development process.

For women in Oman, the new era started when His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said began the process of Renaissance. The result seen today is because of his firm belief in the future of Oman and its men and women. Women are encouraged to work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts.

The progress of Omani women can be gauged by the fact that they are entering various professions and most importantly some women are occupying eminent positions in the public sector and defence. While there are no official figures available, it is said that Oman has the highest number of working women among the AGCC states. (Source: Oman Tribune, 30 September 2007)

Purpose of the study

This conceptual paper addresses the following issues:

Factors that encourage women to pursue various careers.

Role and contributions of Omani women in the Sultanate.

Obstacles hindering women’s progress.

Recommendations

Factors that encourage women to pursue various careers:

Factors which encourage women to work and achieve economic independence and leave a significant mark on the society are mainly: support of women from the Islam religion and the Holy Quran, the wise leadership of His Majesty under which thrust has been given to education and Omanisation, setting up of Women’s Association and favorable labor laws.

Rights of women as stated in Islam

Men and women are accorded equal rights in Islam. Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) wives Khadijah and Aisha have inspired female education in Islamic world. Sitna Khadijah was a successful business woman .She is looked up as a role model for women. Aisha was a military leader and a renowned Hadith scholar.

Men and women were encouraged alike to seek and pursue knowledge by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The Holy Quranic verses and Hadiths can be cited to demonstrate this fundamental right to knowledge. Qur’an encourages the pursuit of knowledge by all Muslims regardless of their sex. It repeatedly commands all believers to read, to recite, to think, to contemplate, as well as to learn from the signs of God surrounding us in nature. In fact, the very first revelation to Prophet Muhammad was “READ” Islam does not put any limit on the kind or field of education a woman may choose. Islamic history still has the mark of few women scholars “The search for knowledge is a duty of every Muslim, male and female” (Hadith).

Role of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has always felt that since women form half of our society education of girls should never be absent from our mind. Rapid strides in educational development were taken after His Majesty Sultan Qaboos assumed power in 1970. In the year 1970 there were only three schools and no colleges or universities. By the year 1985 the number increased to 588 schools and by 2006-07, there were 1053 schools enrolling a total of 563,602 students and employing a teaching staff of 44,514.

The Government under the leadership of His Majesty has accorded support and encouragement to the working women. It has tackled the impediments by providing the necessary social infrastructure and thus cleared the way for their progress in the society.

Omanisation

Omanisation Policy was introduced in 1988 as a long-term process of committed vision and mission. This is a key development policy influencing the employment scenario of the country. Omanisation plan is seen as a national objective in order to stop the continuation of the country’s dependence on the expatriate manpower by substituting Omani nationals for foreign labour.

According to this it is stated that preference is given to Omani Nationals by the legislation concerning employment contained in the Omani Labour Law. It specifies the ratio of Omanisation to be achieved in the private sector considering the number of Omani graduates graduating annually from the various educational institutes The Omani graduates includes many women.

Education

Educational progress has been phenomenal under the reign of His Majesty. Women have an equal access to educational opportunities. For the academic year 2008-2009, 275,229 males and 265,103 females were enrolled in Government schools for general education. In the same year, 7,298 female students were enrolled in Sultan Qaboos University and Colleges of Applied Sciences. For the New Year 2009-2010, 4,033 female students are enrolled as new admissions in Sultan Qaboos University and Colleges of Applied Sciences which is very close to the number of enrollments of the opposite gender. It is thus seen that women’s education is focused. It enhances their role in the Sultanate.

Role of Support Services

The Directorate for Women’s and Children’s Affair plays an important role in the development of women. They offer various services ranging from literacy programmes to training women in skills which will enable self employment and self sufficiency.

Omani Women’s Association was founded in 1971 and is managed as a not-for-profit organization. The Omani Women’s Association acts in collaboration with the Government to carry out a number of activities such as literacy classes, provision of handicrafts skills and family care programmes. It is envisaged that the Women’s Association could be instrumental to offer the much needed support for the development of Omani women in the workplace. These programmes enhance the role of Omani women in Sultanate.

Women’s Leadership

41.9% women (Omanis and Expatriates) are employed in civil services out of which the major share is of the Omani women. Further to the directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, nine Omani women are appointed to senior government decision making positions. Omani women are also represented at Diplomatic Circle as His Majesty appointed the first woman ambassador by appointing her as Ambassador to the Netherlands in September 1999. Today Omani women are in key positions starting at the ministerial posts. Dr Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, Dr Rajiha Bint, SAbdulamir bint, Ali, Minster of Tourism, Dr Shariffa bint Khalfan Al Yahya, Minister of Social Development, Sheikha Aisha bint Khalfan Al Siyabiya, Chairperson of Public Authority for Craft Industry, all hold crucial portfolios.

Economic growth and diversification

Oman has developed its economy, educated its people and has relatively comfortable standard of living due to its dependence on the availability of oil revenues. However, now the Government of Oman has been pursuing economic diversification so as to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Labor Laws pertaining to women

Labor Laws are favorable to Omani women. Oman Labour Law ensures gender equality through equal opportunity and equal pay act. For example, Articles 80 to 82 in the Oman Labor Law clearly safeguard the rights and working conditions of Omani women.

Women can avail special leaves such as maternity leave and leave upon death of husband and a special provision that allows working women to request leave of absence (up to four years) without pay to accompany a spouse who is posted abroad. Working mothers who return to work while continuing to breast feed are allowed to leave work an hour early each day for six months to feed their babies.

The working hours in the Government (public) sector are conducive to working women. Government employees work from 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday are days off from work. Such working hours allow parents, particularly working mothers, to spend time with their children.

With all the above factors, Omani women have occupied different professions and have contributed to the progress of society.

Role and contributions of Omani women in the Sultanate

Today Omani women are in key positions starting at the ministerial posts. Dr Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, Dr Rajiha Bint, Abdulamir bint Ali, Minster of Tourism, Dr Shariffa bint Khalfan Al Yahya, Minister of Social Development, Sheikha Aisha bint Khalfan Al Siyabiya, Chairperson of Public Authority for Craft Industry, all hold crucial portfolios.

At all levels women are found to hold responsible positions today. Health, Education, banks are the leading sectors. Omani women are active voters as well as candidates who have served terms in the Majlis A’shura. The Majlis A’shuras members represent the Sultanates wilayats. Omani women exercising their voting rights prove their equal status. Omani women membership of the Majlis A’Shura dates from 1994.

Omani women are also represented at Diplomatic Circle as His Majesty appointed the first woman ambassador by appointing her as Ambassador to the Netherlands in September 1999.

In the Legal arena also a growing presence of women is seen. In April 2009 first Omani women was appointed as Director of Public Prosecution, Directorate in the Wilayat of Barkha.

Women have served in the ROP for over 35 years and their contribution is growing with new development and experience. Women Police Traffic Patrols are introduced which is in its first phase now that is limited to the Governorate of Muscat.

In the field of Fine Arts, Omani women have been reaching out to international audience. Works of Omani female artists, artisans, sculptress, and photographers have been around to other countries for exhibitions. Omani actresses have won accolades for their performance on stage and screen.

The Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra has harnessed the talent of some wonderful female musicians. During 2007-08 the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra and Syria’s Mari Orchestra with Maestro Raad Khalaf performed a joint concert featuring 50 female musicians – the first time an event of this kind has been staged in the Gulf.

Dr Mariam Al Waili is a Senior Specialist in Nutritional Medicine. She feels that Health sector is a suitable place for women to play their essential role in society. There are more opportunities available than even before and a high demand for qualified and skilled practitioners. Due to the dramatic rise of several diets related chronic diseases, she dreams to see specialized Nutritional Medicine and Education Centers in the country that can provide adequate treatment and cost effective supplements.

Her Highness Sayyida Zeyana Ali Al said is an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) for the last 14 years. She was selected to study in UK and underwent all the 4 stages of training in Air Traffic Control. According to her, the two qualities in an ATC would require is multi tasking and quick thinking. She needed to work in shift, needed a lot of focus to talk to pilots at the same time, keep abreast of information of all aircrafts and work harder to make Air traffic less congested. She thanks His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to have given women a chance to prove their capabilities in all of these careers.

Barka Al Barky studied Social Science and after her post graduation moved to Oman in 1976. She took up employment with UN Development Programme and worked till 1993. She helped in development and coordinating UN Agencies’ contribution to Omani development efforts in all fields of economy from fisheries, agriculture, industrial planning, tourism, civil aviation and meteorology systems. She was the Director of Administration and Personnel at Al Shatti Hospital. In the last 3 years she is mainly supporting the blind community across Oman.

Ahlam Al Jahdhami is an Engineer who is today Sales and Client Support Manager at Falcon Oilfield Services (National Wireline Logging Company). She provides hi-tech exploration and production services to oil companies in the region. After a degree in Biomedical Engineering she wanted a career as a real engineer. Opportunities in the region were limited.There were very few female engineers and she was one of the first Omani women to survive in this environment. The sharp end of the oil industry is never described as woman friendly or even just friendly. It is still a very male dominated and conservative business. She was working and sometimes living in remote camps or on offshore rigs kilometers away from the comforts of home. The work was very physical and set in some of the harshest environments on earth. However, she wants to continue to share her passion for science and engineering and encourage more young women to get involved and contribute in a real and practical way.

Dr. Wafaa Al Harasy is a consultant and director of the ROP Forensic Laboratory. She did her B.Sc in Egypt and completed her M.Sc and P.hd in United Kingdom. Practically Forensic work is mostly a man’s world. There are times when the Forensic team is required to attend crime scenes at unsocial hours of the day and at isolated locations.

But she enjoys her job because of these daily challenges and considers herself lucky not only to be part of this specialized skilled team but also one of the founders of this profession in Oman. She wants to be able to contribute to Oman and have a state of art Forensic laboratory and achieve an international recognition for its services.

Maliha Al Kharoussi is an E business entrepreneur and CEO of Arabian booking.net a new resource for business, leisure and family travelers.She wishes to add value to the core industries that all use i.e. hospitality, travel and tourism. By bringing these 3 major sectors in one easy to access and use website she will help those who want value for money in quickest possible way. She wishes to help and strengthen Oman as leading tourism destination in areas of regular tourism, medical tourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism.

Ghada Al Harthy is the proprietor of cafe G Patisserie & Cafe G Catering. From aviation to catering she wanted a career, not just a job. She strongly feels that business has no gender. As long as the business is legal and ethical there is nothing to stop us from achieving the goals. She believes that under the wise leadership of His Majesty who has a strong advocate for women in business, we are amongst the most fortunate in the Gulf as far as equal opportunities are concerned.

The opportunities are endless. But there is more to be achieved and that is why His Majesty is initiating different measures towards the advancement of women in Oman. However there are various factors that are still hindering the progress of Omani women.

Obstacles hindering women’s progress
Traditional mindset of Arab men

A major barrier to Oman’s progress is the conservative mind set of the Arab men. They believe that women are inferior and it is their responsibility to provide physical and economic security. This attitude prevails at the work place whereby the male colleagues feel that their counterparts are not equally capable and do not delegate responsible and important tasks to them. This dampens their morale and spirit and demotivates them.

This negative attitude and traditional stereotype towards women in Arab/Islamic societies has been, and still is, a major resisting force to progress for professional working women.

Self-image of Women

The inferior self-image of women becomes difficult to overcome considering that it is ingrained and conditioned in their upbringing and social development (Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 1991; Hennig & Jardim, 1977). In traditional Arab-Islamic patriarchal societies, the feminine gender is subordinate, while the masculine is superior and dominant (Magharabi et. al., 1994; Bech, 1994; Hammoud, 1993; Allaghi & Almana, 1984; Gerner, 1984; Al-Hatimy1983). Generally, men are held responsible for providing the necessities of life, thus to work outside the home. On the other hand, women are expected to serve their husbands and children at home, especially since women are not required by the Islamic law (Shari’a) to financially support the family. In this subordinate position, women become victims of their own gender (Mernissi, 1985, Rassam, 1984). Thus the women themselves think they are incapable of being socially and financially independent and hence this hinders the progress for professional working women.

Human Resource Policies and Strategies

The unavailability of structured human resource policies and strategies addressing women workers has proven to be a major obstacle to women’s progress and development. The majority of these workers are concentrated in the lower positions in the organizational hierarchy with a small percentage in decision making positions. 12,072 out of 51,229 Omani employees in the wage group of Omani Rials120 were Omani women, followed by the Omani Rials 200-300 bracket in which 3349 Omani women are employed out of a total of 15,665 local workers in that bracket. Only 25 Omani Women fall in the wage group of Omani Rials 2000 plus + in the private sector out of a total of 589.

Omani women face gender discrimination at the time of recruitment owing to the absence of relevant human resource policies and strategies which promote employment for women. This acts as a ‘glass ceiling” preventing women’s accessibility to any top management positions. For example, there are no programs to facilitate the advancement of women as role models, absence of mentoring programmes, lack of management training programs, and shunning of affirmative action.

Lack of Professional Women’s Network

The lack of a professional women’s network in Oman creates a major void for women aspiring to professional managerial positions. The absence of female mentor-protege , relationship makes it difficult for women to develop the requisite attitude, skills and abilities for leadership and management positions. This results in a disparate situation and a state of confusion; because after all, women are entering a male dominated domain coupled with a traditional value system and a culture that tends to shun women from pursuing management careers.

Work Family Conflict

There is an interdependence of work and family life which is especially problematic for women as a result of their greater family responsibilities. Traditionally, women have had the primary responsibility for housekeeping and childcare which do not diminish when they are employed outside the home. Furthermore, the responsibilities they carry are simultaneous while men’s are more typically sequential. i.e. a woman may be called in at work regarding a sick child whereas typically a father may fulfill role obligations after work hours.

Recommendations

The hindrances should be tackled efficiently from all angles like government, organization and the individual. In Oman the availability and accessibility to all levels of education along with equal opportunities in the job market is more so in the urban area. In the rural interiors the importance given to education takes a back seat and therefore the opportunities to be gainfully employed in the job market is relatively less. Thus it is important to ensure that rural areas should be focused for literacy campaigns. It is urged that educational opportunities to Omani women should never be compromised, but rather be improved. Meanwhile, special measures should be undertaken to encourage and promote women’s access to scientific, managerial, technical, and vocational disciplines in order to develop the requisite skills and extend their opportunities for employment in non-traditional occupations.

It is necessary to institute awareness programmes of employment opportunities and benefits to Omani women in all the different regions of Oman so that their participation in workforce will further increase. This can be achieved through the utilization of the local and international media as a means for promoting the role of working women in the workplace and the values of Arab women in changing society and their integration in the development process. Other measures include setting up quota systems to ensure the employment and representation of women in the workforce.

Since the Omani society is based on strong family ties the centrality of the family accompanied by close relationship makes it the responsibility for parents and parents in law of working women to help with child care. However it is recommended that the organizations and government also take the responsibility of family support and child care services and special attention is directed to the provision of a social infrastructure that will enable women to work, such as professional day care centers on site, kindergartens and adequate maternity leave. The availability of such support services is a tangible expression of organizational recognition of the needs of professional women. Consequently, it undoubtedly can make a great difference to the capacity of women to manage multiple roles.

It is very important that Omani women should think positive about them first and convince others that they are empowered and deserve to be trust worthy. Ghada Al Harthy proprietor of cafeaˆs G Patisserie and cafeaˆs G Catering says “I hope to one day fund and support my own training facilities for younger generation of Omanis so that they may also have a brighter future ahead of them. I also want to start new business ventures that will allow me to create career opportunities for the blind and disabled members of our society. We can all make a positive change starting with our thoughts which lead to our actions.”

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has always emphasized the importance of the woman’s role in the country’s growth: “Many years ago, I said that if the energy, capability and enthusiasm of women were excluded from a country’s active life, then that country would be depriving itself of 50 per cent of its genius. I have taken very good care that this should not happen to Oman, and I look forward to the further progress of women in my country with the greatest pleasure and confidence.”

This assignment is going to discuss the role of religion in the contemporary society according to Weber and examine the views of two other classic theorists, like Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim. Finally it will address other main views from some other sociologists who took different approaches to this area.

There are various definitions of religion, in writings of Weber (cited in Brubaker, 1989); he defines religion as a change promoting social change. Weber was much more concerned on world religion which he believes that it has attracted the majority of believers and certainly affected the cause of global history. In contrast Marx defines religion as an economic justice and material realities which cause problems in society. He also believes that religion stresses the society which appears as a symptom rather than a disease which is used by oppressors to treat those who are poor and exploited. Marx commented that “religion is opium of masses” which shows that he was more economic than religious theory. Marx did not look much into religion and he thought that everything was economics. Although, both Marx and Durkheim believed that religion is a change promoting social change but Durkheim also have his own views about it. He believes that religion is a social function with systems of rituals and believes with indication to the scared which bring society close into social groups Durkheim (1976, cited in Marshall, 1982). Despite, all these views Durkheim views religion as a nature of institutionalisation which has nothing to do with social inequalities or power in the modern society. In contrast to other two theorists, Durkheim from his survey in Australian Aboriginal society, he believes that the practice of totemism Aboriginal practice was a norm which was comparable to religion. He claims that norm is seen as an “object” or “symbol” which is scared as it present various ritual activities. In addition, Durkheim in this survey, he sees totemism as symbol or object which Aborigines used to exclude some other animals to be hunted. Durkheim used all these as reference which are derived in respect of some social values. Moreover, in view of all of these it absolutely mean that religion was taken as an object in relationship to worship in modern societies.

Max Weber was a theorist who studied massive religious worldwide and it was on the centre of his heart (Giddens 2009). In Weber’s book “The Protestant work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, (1904) he identifies that a number of protestant religion which developed in the 16th century, Europe has created the ideas which were necessary for the growth of capitalism. He gave some examples that religion had promoted values such as condemnation of time-wasting, hard work, self -discipline and laziness which affect people in the modern society. According to Weber 1904, he argues that religion in some other cases shapes the entire economic systems and conveys some fundamental changes to the society. In contrast, Marx views religion as dominantly shaped by economic factors. Max Weber’s book “From History To modernity” p 8 cited in Turner (1992) argues that religion is a conservative force which can influence an individual’s behaviour and forces which are produced in a social context. Max Weber argues that religion is a conservative force but it can perform a radical force which leads to social change. For Max Weber to illustrate his point of view, he used the inspiration of protestant ethic as a hypothesis. Max Weber defines the meaning of this term as beliefs of religion which their main aspects are viewed as wasting time, food and resources, which is also measured as sin (Giddens, 2006). He also believes that in order for a society to live in a good life it has to fear God.

However, according to Weber all of those aspects were ideally the key catalysts in creation of industrialisation, which mean that if this concept is true this also applies to religion that it plays a major part in social change. Therefore, Marx claims that religion was an effective agent of social control and as an opiate of the masses. He went on to explain that religion is not a promoter of social change in the modern world but it only lead to the reduction of individual’s hostility towards to unequal and exploitation of the society. In contrast Marx argues that religion has a strong ideological influence due its values and religious beliefs which present justifications of inequalities of power and wealth (Sharrock et. al, 2003).In addition, Marx views religion as a traditional form with idealistic which has positive values guiding to improve a lot of humanity of earth. Weber argues

According to Hughes et .al (1995) they argued about Weber’s believes in the idea of the Calvinism that whether a person is born among the elect or not they all allowed to enter heaven. Weber claims that the challenge of sanctions and discipline of the protestant ethic encouraged men rationally to acquire wealth. Weber (1905, cited in Marsh et al, 1998) believes that religious beliefs of the Calvinism have leaded the growth of capitalism in the modern society. In his point of view, Weber claims that attitudes and beliefs overlap the religious behaviour of the Calvinism and the notion of capitalism. Weber believes that this relationship was only found in the Western Europe. Marx claims that Weber was to deny the idea that Calvinism has caused capitalism as Weber was fully aware that there was a strong interlinkage between beliefs and ideals of the Calvinism which their behaviours encourages the raise of capitalism,(Cuff et al,1998). Furthermore, (Giddens, 2009) Weber in his writings he claims protestant ethic as way of life which has been selected by the Calvinists with some guidance of rules and directions which a human being should behave. Weber claims that there are some duties and obligations which give roles to individual. Weber believes in the principles of the Calvinists which promote individualism in defined careers, which he sees himself a calling from God in life. From this point of view Weber defines a career as value determined single-minded fashion which God has commanded for individual to work in glory and succession in material things is a divine favour from God. In conclusive example of the Calvinists, Weber wanted to prove that Calvinists succession has contributed in the Western economic development as they have been promoted by the desire to serve god. From this idea of the Calvinism, Weber thought that making money was a tangible evidence from a succession calling from God.

From the idea of Calvinism, Marx argues about Weber’s idea of religion ideologies which dominant the society. He claims that such ideologies have some implications that save to justify the interest of the ruling groups at the expenses of others. For Weber, the dominant of religious values break a strong commitment in the economic development (Sharrock at el, 2003). To emphasis this point of view, Weber gave an example of countries like China, the most powerful developed cultural country which is dominate in religious values. In (Cuff at el, 1998) Weber claims that religion is a dominant significant which influence the development of urbanism, commerce and manufactures in the China and India in the 19th century which give a raise in capitalism rather the radical patterns of social change. Weber views religion as denomination which influences such an inhibiting change in these industrialised countries which lead to the development of capitalism. In contrast Feuerbach (1957) in his book called “The Essence of Christianity”, he claims that religion involves ideas of values which are primarily produced by human beings in the event of their cultural development in setting the structure and order of the society. He went on argue that values and norms of human beings are socially constructed and not created through the activities of God.

However,

Max Weber

Like Marx, Weber subscribed to the idea that religion could be ideological in two ways;

It gave assurance to the most fortunate, .i.e. the powerful and wealthy, by stressing that their position was natural or god-given

It offered religious reasons for poverty and suffering in term s of themes such as wickedness, sins committed in former lives. Weber argued, like Marx, that both these themes legitimate status quo.

However Weber believed that some religious ideas specifically protestant beliefs, had initiated the economic and social conditions in which capitalism emerged.

From his comparative studies, Weber noted that while similar economic conditions prevailed in china, India and Europe, capitalism only developed in the latter. He noted that capitalism had developed in those parts of Europe where a particular set of protestant beliefs known as Calvinism were dominant. He concluded that Calvinism had brought about the right cultural climate for capitalist ideas practices to develop in two ways.

Weber noted that;

Calvinists believed in predestination =, i.e. that they were chosen by god for salvation. They were taught to believe that righteous living was all important and that their reward for sticking to such religious principles would be economic success.

Consequently Calvinism encouraged values such as self-discipline, hard work, thrift, modesty and the rejection of self-indulgence, pleasure, idleness and lavish spending; the protestant work ethic. The adoption of these ideas, Weber argues, led to the rapid accumulation of capital which was invested in industrialisation and the emergence of a Calvinist capitalist class at the end of feudal era.

Weber did not say Calvinism caused capitalism; he only suggested that it was the major contribute to a climate of change. Many other pre-conditions needed to be in place. For example, Calvinist beliefs had to be supplemented by a certain level of technology, a skilled and mobile workforce and rational modes of law and bureaucracy. These latter pre-conditions were also present in china and India but Weber claimed that eastern religions emphasised the spiritual rather than the rational or material – in other words, ideas which were not conductive to sustained economic activity.

Criticms of Weber

o Sombart suggests that Weber was mistaken about the beliefs held by Calvinists. Calvinism was against greed and the pursuit of money for its own sake.

o Some countries with large Calvinist populations did not industrialise and this is cited as evidence that Weber’s thesis is wrong. However marshal points out that Weber did not claim Calvinism was the sole pre-condition for the emergence of capitalism. For example, Scotland lacked a skilled technical labour force and capital investment.

o Some commentators have suggested that slavery, colonialism and piracy were more influential than Calvinist beliefs in accumulating the capital required for industrialisation.

o Marxists have also been critical of Weber. Kautsky suggested that capitalism pre-dated Calvinism. Bourgeoisie capitalists were attracted to it because it offered convenient justification for the pursuit of economic interests. Thus the protestant religion was an ideology used to legitimate capitalist interests.

Despite some empirical difficulties in testing Weber’s thesis, his ideas remain important because he highlighted the relationship between social structure (i.e. the economic and social system) and social action (i.e. interaction and interpretation). His point was that if certain structural factors are present, people may choose to act upon religious ideas and bring about change.

Functionalism is the most widely-used theory in modern sociology. In general, functionalism uses a systematical approach to any given object, asserting that each element of this object fulfills a necessary role, which is vital either to keep the balance of the system or for its survival. Any change in the state of any of the elements influences the whole system. Functionalism focuses on society as a unity of individuals and the way they, as part of this whole, are affected by various social institutions. It explores religion at the macro-level, analyzing the effect its practices and symbols have on different aspects of society as a whole as well as the harmony between its elements and/or its endurance. According to the functional approach, religion can fulfill different tasks, for example, establish unity, explain and introduce various norms to society, teach people to deal with probable unpredictable outcomes of certain events; it aims at simplifying the ideas or events that are difficult to understand. Extreme modern functionalists even argue that religion is vital for the survival of the human race and that it is the only means to enable the transition from selfishness to altruism.

Another outstanding theorist of functionalism, Bronislaw Malinowski, also examined small groups to define the social role of religion (“Sociology of Religion,” 2003). His studies led him to a conclusion that religion had a calming effect on the people, especially in stressful environment. This result was based on the fact that religion had penetrated into fundamental but extremely tense for humans events, such as marriage or burial, for example. For Malinowski, death had a special significance as it meant that society lost one of its members. Nevertheless, he found religion very useful in this instance, as it proposed consolation in the form of life after death. By conducting a funeral, religion eased pain and stress, preventing possible social outbursts. Among others, Malinowski studied some tribes from the Trobriand Islands, who had a special ceremony performed before going fishing, which was their only occupation. This ritual helped them overcome fear about what might happen (as the sea was an unpredictable environment), and also built solidarity. The researcher came to a conclusion that religion helped people face the unknown future.

In general, functionalism sees religion as a positive element of society, as it unites people, helps maintain social balance and prevents disorder. Functionalists accept that it is important as religious institutions fulfill functions that society needs for survival, creating individual models of behavior that are beneficial for the social balance. Religion is also viewed as a reconciling measure between an individual as an element of society and society as a whole. Functional approach allows individuals to have different levels of religious involvement. Contemporary functionalists, like J. Milton Yinger, also note that in modern society religion has expanded its influence from the church surroundings to everyday life, which means that activities previously unrelated to religion suddenly become associated with it in the people’s minds (Blasi, n.d.). Religion helps individuals to define their role in society, giving them the feeling of safety and familiarity with other individuals in a certain group.

Machiavelli and Hobbes were the first scientists who introduced the concept of conflict into sociological theories. They applied the term of “cynical realism” to the description of society: motifs of individual behavior were based solely on self-interest. Each society has a certain ideology, represented in a system of beliefs (religion), which is often used according to the interests of the parties involved. But the core of conflict theory lies in the ideas of Karl Marx (McClelland, 2000). According to Marx, the driving force of social existence is labor, which provides people with means to satisfy their basic needs (e.g. food, shelter). The way this labor is organized from a social point of view determines the essential social characteristics, making those who carry out the production the constructors of society. Marx believed that economy was the basis for creating different social institutions that determined the form of social consciousness of each individual.

In order to define the role of religion as it is seen in conflict theory, we need to understand Marx’s view on society. He saw capitalism as the dominant structure of contemporary economical interactions, in which capital belonged to a small group of individuals, who employed workers. The latter used capital to produce different goods, but in order for that small group of individuals to receive profit, the workers were paid less than they actually had produced. So there was a conflict: those two classes needed each other, as they provided each other with what the other one did not have, but their interests had different vectors. In order to keep the workers (who outnumbered the bourgeois class) under control, different measures were taken: politics, police institution, religion. Conflict theory sees religion as a tool used to prevent the majority from acting on their own, to make them accept the established way of life in society. Marx believed that eventually the workers would take over (through growing consciousness), and a new model of economic relations – socialism – would be established.

Max Weber is considered to be a uniting link between conflict theory and the interactionism. The scientist continued developing Marx’s views, and added new levels of conflict to his theory. Weber believed that there were more conflicts than just one-kind-of-property conflict, thus acknowledging that there were more resources to fight for and that society was a multiple-class structure, with each class playing a specific role in material economic interactions. Unlike Marx, Weber moved the focus of conflict to the control of means of violence that served to suppress the opposition. What is more important for us, Weber had clearly showed what role religion played in society. He saw religion as a way to emotionally unite people, and that function of religion was exploited by the state. Religion helped different groups acquire certain statuses or develop into certain communities (based on ethnicity, for example). Religious ceremonies built strong feelings of solidarity within the group, created emotional unity and bonds through application of symbols, techniques and various material aids. According to Weber, religion was not above the conflict or means of resolving it, it was another weapon. If some power incorporated itself into religious beliefs of people, it occupied the dominant position in society. Religion might also be used as a means of finding allies against a common enemy. It could be implemented to create a certain social hierocracy. Through this concept, Weber showed that religion was a manipulation tool, creating background for stratification of society (e.g. stratification in relations and established positions of religious leaders, member of the group and non-followers). In conflict theory, any conflict lies in the desire of one group to dominate the other or others, which can be most effectively achieved through violent constraint. One conflict arises when those who have the authority to coerce provide some groups with certain privileges and strip other groups of them. According to conflict theory, every individual acts in his own interests, having the ability to influence self-perception of others, which creates another conflict: different people having different resources available to them create the reality of others, which they use to their advantage. At a personal level, each individual’s self-consciousness is developed based on the way this individual comprehends the reality – that is through interpersonal communication – which brings us to the theory of interactionism.

Interactionism (short for symbolic interactionism) is another major theory in sociology, the most recently developed among the ones presented in this work. Some of its ideas were taken from Marx, Weber and further developed by George H. Mead and Herbert Blumer with the contribution of Charles Horton Cooley (McClelland, 2000). This theory concentrates on the subjective side of human behavior and social development. It focuses on individuals rather than society. According to interactionism, each person plays a certain role, being able to change his behavior if the behavior of others changes, too. This is because individuals are able to understand and read into the actions of others, which are perceived as symbols. Moreover, each individual perceives himself and his own actions as symbols as well. Interacting with one another, individuals are constantly in the process of interpreting the symbols that they exchange as well as the world around them. Interactionism recognizes individuals as active participants of social life and constructors of society. Its focus is on the individual interactions, diminishing the importance of established norms (like in functionalism and conflict theory). According to interactionism, the changeable nature of negotiation process between the society’s members forms the constantly changing social reality, which nevertheless stays in the frame of the stable set of rules regulating these interactions. It pays special attention to the roles that individuals play in social relations, believing that they can be either pre-defined or not. It is important to understand that individuals not just react, but evaluate the meaning of counteraction, and then decide on their reation.

According to interactionism, religion is a certain ideology (a system of symbols) that helps people understand and relate to things that are above understanding, and in a certain way to track their lives in the wake of this ideology. Religion creates an outline of appropriate behavior and incorporates it into people’s minds. Participation in religious ceremonies is a way to confirm the correctness of one’s course and to reinforce one’s beliefs, but also a means of imposing certain symbols. Interactionism recognizes religion as a very powerful social institution, because if it succeeds in establishing itself as a symbolic system of some individual, it becomes the only right way for this individual to interpret the world around him. Religious ceremonies are seen by this theory as very important for confirming people’s system of beliefs and reinforcing certain interpretation of the world. In general, interactionism is a very subjective sociological approach.

Conclusions

The three theories represented in this research paper see religion not as an essential truth but rather an illusion of the truth, as it is immensely influenced by different variables. Functionalists see religion as a uniting force bringing society’s members together through the feeling of solidarity. They assert that religious symbols are the representation of the values of people and give special meaning to the religious ceremonies and rituals, as they encourage stronger unity in social groups. Functionalism identifies religion as a positive element of the social system since it introduces another unearthly reality to people helping them forget the stress of everyday life. According to functionalism, religion is beneficial for health and is also an important condition for future survival of society. Conflict theory in a figurative meaning sees religion as a drug for certain social groups. It is one of the ways for the oppressed to feel united, though it is a cruel tool in the hands of the ruling class. They use it to enforce the difficult way of life, make the working class believe that it is their fate and there cannot be another. Religion refers only to the future, promising reward or better life in the distant future or even after death (in afterlife). For conflict theory, religion is at a stage of change, blocking the idea that the current way of life benefits only a few while the majority of society suffers from injustice. It is interesting to mention that both Durkheim and Marx predicted that religion will vanish from the social life being useless. Symbolic interactionism concentrates on the individuals and their interactions through which the way the society functions and the roles of its institutions are defined. This theory sees society as a constantly changeable symbolic organism. Importance of religion is in the first place defined by the meaning of religion for each separate individual. Being part of religion is a continuous and regular comparison and confirmation of one’s system of beliefs. The research shows that the role of religion can be explained from different points of view, and there is no right or wrong explanation.

This paper looks at the issue of women’s empowerment, the role of men in empowering women, women and feminist reaction to their involvement, their own reaction as men, how they can be efficiently and effectively involved and the way forward.

Until the 19th century, women accepted their mediocre status in society as they lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them challenge the prevailing social order. Attempts to right the inequalities between men and women necessitate the empowerment of women economically, socially, politically and culturally. Women must be given the educational and economic resources that will free them from men’s domination, patriarch, oppression, violence and servitude. Like the case of vaccines where weakened or dead microbes of the kind that cause a disease is administered to stimulate immune system to produce antibodies against that disease, if men are seen as the perpetrators and the cause of women problems, then it is simply wise to effectively and efficiently involve them in solving societal inequalities that exist between men and women. Once feminists, advocates, activists and women in general view men everywhere as inherently part of the problem, efforts at empowering women must involve and engage men, hence the proliferation of an interest in men and masculinities in recent years.

The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, there was a call on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote men’s support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and shared responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health. Research has shown that, partnering with men is an important strategy for advancing women’s empowerment. Again, the need for the involvement of men has been precipitated by a series of global processes such as the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the status of Women (CSW), which discussed the role of boys and men in achieving women’s empowerment and gender equality. This need for men’s involvement is underscored by the fact that men’s power over women in many contexts necessitates working with men to change the conditions of women’s life; for men’s power in society is exercised from personal decision regarding family size to the policy and programme decisions taken at all levels of government. Again, men as perpetrators arouses the need for their involvement, that is in treating the “disease” of women’s disempowerment, ignoring the cause will only make the fight, a back and forth unprogressive agenda and as such to remedy the situation , the real cause-men, must be involved in the whole process. Also empowering women, calls for the pulling together of many resources for its accomplishment and these resources unfortunately are largely controlled by men who determines it’s distribution, beneficiaries and accessibility and hence it makes greater sense to pull them along on the pathway of women’s empowerment to be able to assess and enjoy the resources needed in the process. Last but not the least, it is important to involve men due to the fact that, they are largely the leaders in society serving predominantly as decision makers, opinion makers as well as public figures who the younger generation both male and female emulate as part of their socialization and as such for women’s empowerment to be achieved, men as leaders must be reached, encouraged and mobilized to become committed to gender equality in all aspects of human interactions and relationships to serve as good examples to the younger generation to acquire a wholesome socialization that view both men and women as equal and not as one being superior and the other inferior. It is worth noting that the exemplary life of men as leaders in the socialization of boys and girls is very vital in achieving and ensuring gender equity on the backdrop that they (boys and girls) are more susceptible to change and mental restructuring. It is therefore against these backgrounds that men’s involvement in women’s empowerment is deemed as very crucial and influential.

On the assumption that humans in general are resistant to change, particularly to their norms values and belief systems, it is not surprising that some men have and are still fighting against the notion of women’s empowerment based on the hidden reason of trying to defend their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits that they perceive women’s empowerment would involve and also their resentment of what they see as attention and resources being given disproportionately to women. For some other men, the blame-game strategy of some feminists and seeing them as so evil deters them from changing their personal masculinities and also join in the struggle for women empowerment. On the other divide, the attention being paid to men on their involvement in addressing their superiority ideologies, over-emphasized masculinities, violent and abusive behavior in stimulating changes in their relationships with girls and women has been met with the feminist ideology of ” on our terms/conditions” indicating a limited space for men’s involvement and tangible participation. Although male involvement in women’s empowerment has been of recent concern, many women working in the field remain unconfident, uncertain, antagonistic and very hostile to the idea that men might be or are partners in the fight for gender equality. Thus the emergence of men as advocates for women’s empowerment has been received with a lot of suspicion, within some feminist circles; they are viewed as competitors for the limited funds available for women’s rights and not as a supporting initiative. Some argue that men were coming to take over with the aim of wiping out feminist movement whilst others see men as competitors in empowering women rather than complimentary to their efforts and advocacy. Interestingly, in the men’s fraternity, men working as aids to women’s empowerment are seen as betraying their fellow men and sometimes referred to as “men who are sat on by women” in their communities. Men’s role in the promotion of women’s empowerment has therefore become topical and yet contested in various quarters among feminist and women who work in the field.

Many feminist have viewed the involvement of men in women’s empowerment with so much suspicion emanating from the distrust for men and their fear that men will try to use subtle and deceptive means to defend and maintain their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits thereby undermining the fight for women’s empowerment. Men have been seen as the cause and perpetrators of the down trodden image of women and therefore it is quite uncomfortable for some feminist at involving them in their fight. Perhaps questions like why these men should be involved in the first place, how are they to be involved, whether they are willingly and will be truly committed to the fight, why on earth will men be interested in empowering women considering the superiority, power and autonomy they enjoy, and what solutions, measures and prescriptions do they have to offer in empowering them as women repeatedly clouds the minds of many feminist. This suspicion also arises from the issue of whether men will really welcome the idea and state of women being equal to them in terms of status, power, and leadership and decision-making, are men really determined to work with women without setting or prescribing boundaries and limitation to how, which form and the extent to which women can be empowered. It is therefore against this background that many if not all women view men’s involvement in their empowerment with much suspicion, hostility and hesitations. For some their hostility arises from the fear that the involvement of men in their empowerment would overshadow their efforts with them selling out to a watered down agenda. Again, in working with men to empower women, most development institutions lack the needed determination and focus of working towards a more equal world where men will not be seen as superior to women. “Certainly the way in which work with men has been taken up by development institutions has often been lacking in ambition and devoid of political intent, preoccupied with creating more equitable men, rather that galvanizing men’s activism for a more equal world”.( Cornwall et al, Dialogues on women’s empowerment). Gender equality work with men cannot expect to participate in efforts to secure gender justice simply on the basis of men being “the other half of gender” but an interdependent part.

Personally, for the empowerment of women to be achieved, the role of men can never be overemphasized due to the fact that the lives of men and women are intertwined such that whatever affects one directly or indirectly affects the other. It is worth noting that men even in the most traditional and patriarchal societies believe and support women’s empowerment and would want to see their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives live in a society where equity and justice is paramount. Many more men in our view are ready to lace with their women folk in their empowerment- this can clearly be seen around us with the increase in the number of feminist men who have joined in the battle. However if women and feminist want men to be truly committed and involved in their empowerment, then these men should be seen as allies and not competitors, thus men should be seen as complimentary to their efforts rather their challengers or rivals. Again, the tagging men as evil and destructive must stop; otherwise men will continue to be defensive and resistant to the changes that women desire in them for their empowerment. If we want to reach out to men to influence change, we cannot portray men as evil, since no man identifies himself as such Instead, non-judgmental messages which can provoke thinking and reflection among men for change must be employed. Also, feminist suspicion of men on their involvement in the fight for women’s empowerment must give way to trust through restructuring of their thought pattern and channeling their energies in reaching, encouraging, empowering and mobilizing men to become part of the movement which is committed to women’s empowerment. Furthermore it is important to educate and sensitize boys in their formative years through both formal educational system and in informal setting through peer programmes and also efforts must be made to incorporate attention of men and boys in legislation, policies and programmes on women’s empowerment and to develop ways to ensure active participation. Last but not the least, many more men can be brought on board if they are encouraged, expose and educated on the need to empower women by their peers. It will be an easier effort if men speak to men on women’s empowerment because men feel more comfortable discussing such issues with their peers and are more convince when their peers informs them on issues.

Despite all the drawbacks and challenges outlined above, no responsible man would love to see the children and wife become paupers or marginalized. Considering the important role women play in the development agenda, it is only proper men get involved irrespective of how some women activist view it. Women have the primary task of child rearing and therefore need all the resources to execute this task in other to break the cyclical transmission of poverty from generation to generation. Women transmit values to the next generation therefore, to make the biggest impact on development; society must empower and invest in its women. The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, it is no wonder that when the call was made on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote men’s support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and shared responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health many men accepted. With men’s power in public and private life, their cooperation is indispensable in the domestic and community spheres, national politics, finance and governance. Consequently, the empowerment of women is very crucial for the development of any society considering the roles they play in society and the fact they form more than half of the human resource of a nation but their empowerment cannot materialize without men being involved. Men have been at the centre stage of the issue of societal inequalities and hence remedying the situation requires their involvement. However, some feminist have met this development with much suspicion, hostility and distrust for these men. On the other hand, some feminist are advocating for the involvement of men as a way of addressing gender inequalities and mobilizing resource for women’s empowerment. Accordingly, there is the need for those who work in the field to reach, encourage, empower, and mobilize men to become part of the fight to achieve greater success.

Culture is defined as the dynamic system of rules established by groups (Matsumoto & Juang, p. 10). Marriage is one of the norms established by people, which reflect attitude, beliefs and behaviors. Marriage is an interpersonal relationship with communal or religious acknowledgment which is often created as an agreement. Marriage is rooted effectually in almost every society except where common law partners are recognized. It is the bond that exclusively consents a sexual relationship, especially in collectivist countries where sex before marriage is considered a sin, likewise some societies, especially collectivist countries also require official approval of religious or civil body. Across cultures, the anatomies of ancestral standards are different. Beliefs of what comprises a family are based on culture, dynamics, assets, and ethics. In many cultures, extended family which includes married couples staying in the home of their parents is a form of showing love and respect for example in Pakistan; marriage is also basis for having children in those societies. Since issues like fornication and having children outside of marriage is considered taboo so to grow a family in collectivist cultures getting married is must. Our attributions, interpersonal and romantic relationships and group behaviors are all influenced by the culture we live in thus resulting in the attitudes we have towards a specific actions we take.

Support gap, depression and illness including marital satisfaction, communication pattern and attitudes towards marriage, they all differ across cultures and will be discussed. Attitude towards marriage being the most important one, because the whole idea of relationship relies on the individual’s perspective and preferences. It depends on the individual to see it as a social foundation which administer structure, support, growth and stability or see it as an economic arrangement or as a part of religious institution. The western society might pay more importance to love whereas collectivist cultures might see as an obligatory and as a religious foundation to have family.

Spousal Social Support:

Social support for women is greatly reduced in machismo cultures (Matsumoto & Juang, p. 198). The conformity and obedience are expected by women and is related to traditional gender roles that females and males have occupied; with male traditionally being “in power”. Such differences result in loss of support especially in cultures where women tend to get married at a young age; since getting married at an early age is a form of economic survival it is also seen as a way to guard the female gender and to administer some adherence in settings where society is under pressure for example India. The support a married couple gets from their significant partner is substantial, because support from outside the marriage does not compensate for the lack of spousal support (Xu & Burleson). Belle (1982) termed “support gap hypothesis” which is that women receive less support from their husband compared to men even though the study Belle did was in 1980 and it has been almost a decade, the study done by Xu and Burleson indicates that “social change in sex role relations” has not changed. The different kinds of support received are emotional support, esteem support, network support, tangible support and informational support. Research indicates that men are less comfortable and less skilled in discussing distressed emotional state (Burda & Vaux 1987; Saurer & Eisler, 1990; Trobst, Collins & Embree, 1994). In Cross Cultural comparison of social support, Mortneson (1999) found that members of the American individualistic cultures viewed seeking of social support as more appropriate means of coping with problems than did members of the Chinese collectivist cultures. American individualists also rated the provision of emotional support as more appropriate form of emotional support than did Chinese Collectivists.

Study done by Xu and Burleson, included 100 native born Americans and 102 native born Chinese; 45% of the sample were between 18-24 yrs of age and not exceeding 33 years. All participants were recently married i.e. not more than 5 years. The study tried to obtain desired and experienced levels of spousal support for the five types of social support (emotional, esteem, network, informational and tangible). Participants also responded to demographic questions that provided information on age, sex, race, national origin, length of time they had known their spouse and the time they have been married. The results indicated a vast difference between Chinese support system vs. American support system; Chinese men reported getting more esteem and network support from their spouse than Chinese women versus American women who experienced higher level of support from their spouse than did men. Sex differences were found amongst Chinese and American women, both face a support gap but Chinese women face an additional gap with respect to network support. The results provided Cross-cultural corroboration for the existence of support gaps, i.e. the less network support for Chinese wives that is because Chinese wives were reliant on their husbands for social contacts outside their home.

Chinese also reported in getting more information support than did Americans, which could arise from Individualism-Collectivism; a cultural factor. Americans view intimate relationship in terms of personal affect changes whereas Chinese in terms of connection with community. American men reported getting low level of spousal support than Chinese men that is because in traditional value system, wives have an obligation to support the egos and social connections of their husbands and husbands have lesser responsibility. Results indicate that marriage remains more influenced by traditional values among Chinese men than Americans.

Depression and Illness including Marital Satisfaction across Cultures

In collectivist societies, marriage is the central reality of a woman’s life and the blue print on which her life depends. Epidemiological studies confirm the special vulnerability of women, especially married women, in South Asia (Johnson & Johnson, 2001). High rates of domestic violence (Jejeebhoy, 1998); female illiteracy, malnutrition, anemia and maternal mortality are major public health problems (Buckshee, 1997). Psychiatric epidemiological studies consistently identify high rates of depression and other neurotic illnesses in women and the gender ratio of these disorders on the subcontinent is higher than the gender ratio in the West (Mumford et al., 1996). Among married women in Pakistan, especially among newly married women, attempted suicide (Khan & Reza, 1998) and death rates from murder and suicide are higher than in are higher than in many other societies and are usually associated with in-law conflicts, especially dowry disputes (Kumar, 2004). Smaller scale studies of mental health and illness have found that a variety of disorders such as depression and post-partum depression were strongly associated with marital problems, particularly maltreatment by husband or in-laws (Patel et al., 2002; Ulrich, 1987). Women immigrants report higher rates of depression and dysphoria than Native American women (Karasz, 2005).

A study of traditional South Asian immigrant women and white European American women found that European American women viewed depressive symptoms as the result of personality structures shaped by childhood experiences, or by patho-physiological processes such as serotonin deficiency or hormonal imbalance. South Asian women, by contrast, viewed depressive illness as a normal emotional reaction to severe situational stress, especially marital distress, and to the vulnerabilities associated with women’s gender roles (Karasz, 2005). The present study by Karasz examines how women understand the link of marital family problems and a wide range of health problems by examining their conceptual representations of the causal relationship between marriage roles, health and illness. Using qualitative methods and a model of illness representation from health psychology literature, 35 traditional South Asian immigrant women living in New York City were interviewed. Results indicated that problems associated with marriage roles, including marital and marital family conflict, domestic overwork and isolation were viewed as extremely serious and were associated conceptually with a variety of health problems. In another study done by Qadir, De Silva, Prince and Khan, tested the applicability of marital satisfaction scales developed in the West for use in Pakistan. The results indicate that, contrary to cultural beliefs regarding marriage, most women expressed the need to be satisfied within marriage, which was found to be extremely low because of variety of reasons such as living in an extended family background and low spousal support.

Communication Patterns

Rehman and Munroe did a study and used cross-cultural methodology to examine the demand-withdraw pattern of marital communication. In Western countries, women make more demands, whereas men are more likely to withdraw. This advanced marital structure hypothesis suggests that this pattern can be altered by gender roles and beliefs, particularly in traditional marriages (Rehman & Munroe, 2006). To test such hypotheses, the authors conducted an observational study of marital communication across very different cultures, with varying levels of patriarchy (i.e., 50 White American couples, 52 Pakistani couples in Pakistan, and 48 immigrant Pakistani couples in America). A questionnaire was used to gather demographic information, such as age and education.

The Short Marital Adjustment Test (SMAT; Locke & Wallace, 1959); a standard measure of marital adjustment with well-established psychometric properties was the measure of marital satisfaction level. The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, 1979); was used to screen out violent couples. Modified General Ethnicity Questionnaire (GEQ; Tsai, Ying, & Lee, 2000); only the immigrant couples completed this measure of acculturation to U.S. culture. Unable to find acculturation measures designed for The Desired Changes Questionnaire; the DCQ was used to choose topics for each couple to discuss during their marital interactions. Twenty areas are listed (e.g., “Get together with my friends”).3 For each area, spouses rated how much they wanted their partner to change (1- no change; 7- much more); they then listed at least two additional issues on which they wanted partner change and rank ordered their three most important issues. Each couple was also asked to discuss for 7.5 minutes, which were later coded.

Across cultures, demand-withdraw communication was related to marital distress, extending previous findings to new groups. The results for demanding behaviors showed that Pakistani wives were significantly more likely to engage in unassertive demands than were American wives, whereas American wives were significantly more likely to use aggressive demands than were Pakistani wives. In addition, among Pakistani and immigrant couples, husbands were significantly more likely than were wives to use aggressive demands, whereas American wives were significantly more likely to use aggressive demands than were American husbands. There was a trend for American husbands to be more likely to withdraw than their wives. In contrast, in the Pakistani group, wives were significantly more likely to withdraw than were husbands. In addition, Pakistani and immigrant wives were significantly more likely to withdraw than were American wives, whereas American husbands were significantly more likely to withdraw than were Pakistani husbands. Pakistani and immigrant wives showed increased withdrawal and made more unassertive demands, whereas Pakistani and immigrant husbands withdrew less and made more aggressive demands.

Attitudes towards Marriage

Attitude is one of the definitions in Jung’s Chapter XI of Psychological Types. Jung’s description of attitude is a “readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way” (Jung, [1921] 1971:par. 687). One of the types of attitudes Jung describes is, rational attitude, which is “reason as an attitude” (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 785). Rational attitude is subdivided into thinking and feeling and irrational is subdivided into sensing and intuition. Attitude towards marriage involves, “readiness to act in a certain way”, whether you are capable of considering it rationally or irrationally. Why an individual chooses to get married? (voluntarily and involuntarily) differs across cultures. In collectivist cultures, it is seen as the only way of having family, fornication is not only considered a sin but also an individual can be severely punished which can lead to his/her death; some countries also have laws protecting it for example Saudi Arabia.

Higgins, Zheng, Liu and Sun did a study to compare the attitude towards marriage amongst people living in China (collective culture) and United Kingdom (individualistic culture). The British sample consisted of 338 students and the Chinese sample consisted of 505 students. A questionnaire was devised by Chinese and English researchers working together. Respondent cultural differences in response style were noted (Higgins, Zheng, Liu & Sun, 2002). According to Triandis, Brislin, and Hui (1988), people who belong to collectivist, group-oriented societies are more likely to value harmony, face-saving, modesty, and moderation and this may manifest itself in neutral answers to attitude scales. Respondents were asked for their opinion using a 5-point Likert scale. In this study, students were asked for their general attitude to sex before marriage. A total of 46.3% of Chinese men and 41.2% of Chinese women gave neutral answers, a higher percentage of Chinese female students (46.9%) were against sex before marriage than were Chinese male students (29.9%). The next statements concerned the connection between premarital sex and marriage. Most British students (85.2% men, 91.3% women) disagreed with “A couple who have had sexual intercourse before marriage ought to marry each other,” whereas only a few Chinese (12.9% men, 11.4% women) disagreed.

The belief that sex is designed for marriage is still firmly held by many Chinese people and exerts a strong influence on their attitudes (Higgins, Zheng, Liu & Sun, 2002). When asked about their willingness to marry a partner who had had sex with somebody else, over half of the British respondents (54.0% men, 50.6% women) did not seem to worry about their partners’ previous sexual experience whereas their Chinese counterparts (34.0% men, 36.5% women) appeared to be less agreeable to the idea. 87.1% male and female 94.3% students were against freedom to have lovers within marriage. This attitude was also prevalent among the Chinese sample, with 65.6% of men and 72.5% of women against extramarital lovers, this study showed that these “male-superior norms” still exist in the U.K. sample but are more prominent in the Chinese sample (Higgins, Zheng, Liu & Sun, 2002). Culture exerts a strong influence on people’s attitudes to love, marriage, and sex. People from a more traditional society (e.g. China) have more consensus about the gender roles of men and women; adhere more to traditional morality and values; and are less “open” about sexual freedom (Higgins, Zheng, Liu & Sun, 2002).

Hojat, Shapurian, Shafeyhain and Parsi conducted a study amongst 160 Iranian immigrants in the US in 2000. The immigrants were between 20 -50 years of age, questionnaires were given which included 25 questions regarding attitude towards marriage and relationship. Results showed that Iranian immigrant men were more likely than female partners to view premarital sex, marriage and family from a traditional point of view.

Another interesting study done by Wiesel and Krenawi consisted of 150 participants of different cultural backgrounds i.e. 29 were Druze, 32 were Muslims and 33 were Christians; 44 were women and 50 were men with a mean age of 34. The questionnaires were designed to reveal attitudes toward love, the marriage expectation scale, potency scale, which will reveal the control of things, and mate selection scale which revealed how the person took initiative in getting married (love or arranged). Results indicated Muslims saw love as less important for marital quality than did Druze and Christians, Muslims more than other groups correlated independent decision making with marital quality, attitude toward love and marital quality were weakly correlated among Muslims, the necessity to beget off spring and unity between families were high amongst Muslims than other groups suggesting what might keep the families together in the absence of love. The results also suggested that arranged marriages are negatively associated with marital satisfaction and low level of marital satisfaction was related with low level of education.

Discussion

Through a variety of perceptions, one develops an exclusive analogue of what marriage is; and the ancillary ideals concerning marriage. My mother always said that “successful marriage depends on two things: finding the right person and being the right person”. Since I am a Muslim, I will give several quotations from Quran; which I support as my belief and my idea of a perfect family and what a perfect husband and wife should be like. Though I must admit with time, I have come to realize that to be perfect; one must have to sacrifice a lot and since marriage is a two way street one has to give a lot in order to get anything. In Islam, marriage is treated as ‘half-faith’. “When a servant of Allah marries, he has completed half of his religious obligations, and he must fear Allah in order to complete the second half” (al-Baihaqi). Prophet Muhammad has also said, “Marriage is part of my *Sunnah, whoever runs away from my path is not from among us”. Husbands and wives are compared as garments to each other (al-Qur’an 2:187) Marriage gives tranquility (al-Qur’an 30:21) of mind in the spouses. Allah has prescribed marriage as the only way for conjugal relationship and family life in human society (al-Qur’an 2:221, 5:5, 24:33).

With enough being said of the significance of marriage in Islam, it’s a shame to see that Muslim women face higher suicidal rate than men in Pakistan (Khan & Reza, 1998). Most marriages in Pakistan are “arranged” by parents and other elders of family, with the woman having little or no say in the selection of her partner. Premarital meetings between couples are rare. Many couples meet each other for the first time on their wedding night. Newly married couples share the house with the groom’s family, having little time or space of their own. Once married, a woman is under increasing pressure from her in-laws as well as her own family to have children as soon as possible, preferably in the first year. If for some reason the woman cannot have children, the threat of divorce or the husband taking on a second wife (allowed in Islam) is not uncommon. The divorce rate in Pakistan is quite low 0.3 per 1000 population (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1996, p. 686) but this does not reflect the true state of marriages. There is considerable stigma to divorce, especially for the woman. In addition, few women work outside their homes or have jobs that give them economic independence. Because most of the South Asian and Middle Eastern countries give high power to men, the spousal support is something that men living in these countries expect from women. Being a housewife, taking care of kids and most of all thinking of women as inferior is something common amongst these men. Because the families live together, there is not privacy, which gives rise to poor communication amongst married couples.

My marriage was an arranged, it wasn’t that my parents didn’t ask me of my approval; or if I didn’t get a chance to talk to my husband, before getting married, that is something that a women in Islam has the right to do and people; who are uneducated living in impoverished societies, deprive women of these right which gives rise to many social and marital problems. I must admit though, that living in an extended joined family, gave my husband and me little or no time for us, our life was going around in circles to which I always thought was no ending. But, being educated and having a liberal thinking we always made sure there was at least if not all, some privacy left, some matters that only me and my husband would discuss behind closed doors. While doing research for this paper, I sadly have to confess that women living in Asian or Middle eastern countries do suffer more, which didn’t come to me as a surprise because I’ve lived in Pakistan and have seen it all, but my question and concern was who will ever put a stop to all this nonsense?. Sadly, women is a victim in these countries but women are also who are perpetuating these hatred and violence in the household. A woman can take many forms, she can be a daughter, a mother in law, a sister in law, a wife, an aunt etc. most importantly she is the one who raises a child to be the kind of person she wants to see him as; unfortunately in countries like Pakistan and India, it is the woman (mother in law) who forces their child to be stern and harsh to their wives, I think its because of the fact that they cant stand the undivided attention of their sons or maybe they think keeping a women under control will only bring out the best for their sons. Who will ever think of these women who are ignored?

Thailand is located in South East Asia where it is one of the oldest countries full of history and rich in culture and has been sustained for a long time, until the new globalization, it never has been colonized to other countries and has been affected by things such as religion, the senility system making younger people believe and listen to older people in the old principle and teachings. In the past Thai families have a lot of members and have very close relationships, most of the men are commonly known as a leader, working outside the home, but women are known as a follower, taking care of children and household chores. Even if nowadays the western culture makes Thai women have more freedom in human rights, working more outside the home and getting more opportunities in education, being more powerful and influential in politics and economics but because of the old cultures and Thai society men still have more effect and power and still have more advantages than women.

First of all, if mentioned in Thai society as Thailand still keeps old cultures and traditions from the ancient time men went out because of the war women would stay home look after their children and families, responsible for all kinds of work on the farm as Thailand mainly produces from Agriculture. Also the senility is very important in Thailand, younger people listen to older people, child listen to their parents. Thai women still listen and believe in old principles that make Thai women stereotypes, and are very good at motherhood, love to take care of their children and families, good manners and follow their husbands as an old Thai saying, men are the front legs of the Elephant and women are the back. But according to this reason and in wedding ceremonies, the groom needs to prepare a bride-price as a gift to the bride’s parents in the ceremony as it has been hard work for looking after his future wife and shows the parents he has a good financial life, and can take care of their daughter in the future. In my opinion it seems parents sell their daughters, Thai guys are more concerned about making money rather than taking care of his wife and end up with men who possibly have several wives and still believe they can support or take care of all their wives and according to Ane (2004, p..130) “The practice of keeping major wives (mia luang) and minor wife (mia noi) still exist today and – when it comes to the wealthy, powerful or famous.” On the other hand it will not be acceptable for women to have many husbands or even if some women remarried after divorce or the husband died, it is still unusual.

In religion, most of Thai are Buddhist, a temple is the center for all activities of the Thai communities, Buddhist is very influential and dharma principle is very strict in Thai society for example women are forbidden to touch and stay privately with a monk or even if standing higher. All Thai men need to be ordained to learn Bhuddhist as a monk from the belief that they will get good virtue and via it show gratitude to their parents as well, because of Buddhist principles as explained, almost all activities in the temple driven by men and women will be responsible only in preparing foods and some cleaning, same as if they are in the house. From these reasons it makes some Thai men still believe they are a higher level than Thai women in addition to Ane, (2004, p.130) who gave an opinion that “Buddhism is often blamed for inequalities women in Thailand endure. At the center of Thai culture, it is seen by some as a kind of framework for male domination.”

The Second mention in education. From the past, education begins from temples as there is a center of Thai culture and is taught by monks and Thai girls could not have education opportunities as boys because of the old culture and that Thai girls should learn households at home, but the system was changed after King Rama VI had studied from abroad and came up with the idea that Thai women should get education and human rights same as western women to help men develop the country. The king supported and built up schools and drove all issues necessary for example free education for children in primary schools both for male and female. Also the support from the government helps Thai people have free education in higher levels both in genders and Thai parents have more concern about the important things for getting good education as their children will get a good job and good life. Refer to Liza (2012, pp.54-55) have shown the figures from the world bank website, school enrolments for men and women in percentage, the gender gap in primary and secondary school is decreasing rapidly from the past year 1971 to 1978 and almost the same percentage in year 1991 to 2009. On the other hand the percentage of women in the tertiary school is higher than men between year 1993-2009, that means Thai women can get education equally with men and have abilities to study higher level same as men.

In the third mention in Economics and Careers, women become more influential in Economics and get more opportunities in the work place because they have more opportunities in education than they have more capacities and are able to work outside home higher than they would in the past, whereas men are more involved in the household chores and look after children instead. And also from the changing of Thai Economics, having more investments and industries effect to Thai people migrate to the big cities, women tend to work far from home than before, leaving their children with grandparents and believe they can better afford a life than staying home or working in upcountry.

The women roles in the past still occur in some areas of Thailand where as Western culture still is far away but controlling family business and finances is always the common roles for Thai women even from the past until now, big or small families and even in the big city through upcountry that means Thai women are very influential in Thai Economics, more than men.

In industry fields, Thai Men normally do more physical work or in heavier industries than women for example in construction, automotive and electronics but for Women more often work in the light industries for example in tourist, food production and textile industries.

Because of Thai culture, religion believes and practice and also the Physical human body make most of Thai men still believe that they are higher, has abilities and work harder than women. Discrimination in working place still appear in some career according to the website the Nation news (June 27, 2012) has comment on unequally system between Thai men and women in the police and military officer.

Thai women is still bad known in sex-trafficking even though it’s illegal in the country but still appear by some reasons such as from women immigration to the big city but too difficult to find normal job then it directs them get involved in this business. By another reason is some women go straight to do this business as they want to get easier money and Thai and Foreigner men still satisfy to pay. In my opinion, it same as normal market, it has demand and supply if don’t have both then business can’t be survive.

Final mention in Politics, Thailand is a Democracy country with strong believe in Royal family. Thai women can vote and get in a politics position same as men and nowadays from more opportunities in higher Education, Thai women have more space and powerful in politics roles. Thailand has changed politics history and will have changed in Thai women roles following to Yinglak Shinawat is the first women Prime Minister, boost government and create a lot of campaigns to support and develop Thai women roles all over Thailand for example setting up women fund to every cities to help any activities and improve women life especially women in South of Thailand where as more Muslim culture. But other point of view, Yinglak Shinawat still get some comments about her abilities and the way to get into this power as she is a sister of Taksin Shinawat, ex-prime minister of Thailand.

In conclusion, Thailand is still unequal between men and women from the reason of culture, religion and old practical, that make Thailand hard to change in the gender roles in short term. Also the new globalization effected to Thai women, need more education, more abilities and more responsibilities. It is hard thing for Thai women now that they need to be a good mother, good taking care of their family, working in households, control family financial and need to work outside home in the same time to be acceptable in Thai society and apply in new world effected from Western culture.