Role of Women

Role of Women over Centuries

Women/Housewife in the 16th Century

When we look back to the history, we find that most of the women in the 16th century were housewives and mothers. They had to spend their lives in the joint family with their relatives and work hard to support their family functions. These women in the 16th century were not allowed to enter in the profession such as doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. These housewives were paid very low only and had to work in very tough situations. In the 14th to16 Century, the lives of working women were worth knowing insight. The majority of women lived on as a housewife in marital and financial dependence on husbands. The mass of the single women earned their living as maids or prostitutes. In the 16th century, women of all classes were married at the age of 12 to 16 years (Amutabi, 2009). The wife was subservient to her husband - as it was in the marriage formula. The husband had the guardianship of his wife, impacting particularly on legal matters. The husband alone had the right of use of marital property. Although in some places was the mode that the woman had to accept the dispositions of their assets only - but the refusal of the husband would have been interpreted as a betrayal. Rapes were so frequent that the authorities decided in some draconian punishment for the perpetrators.

Women/Housewife in the 17th Century

Now, some time later with respect to that entry that talked about women in the sixteenth century, the condition of women did not change much even in the century later. The roots of evil continued to effect women lives in the next century. The woman from the beginning of humanity has had to travel a road filled with obstacles to transcend their status as mother and be able to participate in society. There were no significant improvements in the conditions of these middle age housewives. They were in the grip of societal out dated customs where woman was considered not more than a property. The early life of these women was still revolved around misery and they had no option only to compromise with the situations and bowed down their knees on the sympathy of society. The industrial revolution in Europe, from 1789, with the discovery of the steam engine, gives rise to a new technology that requires laborers to work in factories. The woman turns to become a useful tool to participate in working life, receiving lower wages than men and subjected to inhuman conditions of labor (Farrow, 2005).

Women/Housewife in the 18th Century

The social situation of women was the decorative object and source of pleasure, besides being the "maid" of men. Women have found relegated to second place with a few exceptions, the historical process. From the eighteenth century this situation began to change. Women have been marginalized and forgotten over the centuries, except for some who have done things very important, and these have not been away ...