Women

Newsela

Stereotypes have a big affect on social groups and often get people to think poorly about a person, simply because they belong to a certain social group.There are many varying different types of social groups, one of them being, women.Women often are believed to be less superior to men and this is an imperative issue that needs (and is, don’t worry) to be dealt with. Despite many years of struggle, women are still not considered equal to men in today’s society.

Source

In the article, “Major Called on Iron Will During Journey to Become 3rd Female Army Range,” Major Lisa Jaster showed that being a woman in specific fields makes it tricky to rise to the top amongst the others, but even though that’s true, she didn’t let it stop her from completing her goals. With her strong determination she was able to become the third female army Ranger. In the article, “Women’s Suffrage,” the writer shows that the fight for women’s suffrage was a very long process, nearly 100 years in fact. This also shows that fighting for women’s rights is not an easy thing and is actually very hard. In the article, “‘My Stealthy Freedom’ : the Iranian Movement Against Compulsory Hijab”, the writer talks about how Masih Alinejad started the social media movement: My Stealthy Freedom.

This movement shows how hard it is for women in Iran to truly feel free. They are required to wear an islamic veil to hide themselves. But what if they don’t want to be hid? Whether they want to or not, it doesn’t matter, because they are forced to by the law. Some words I think the women in these articles would use to describe themselves are strong, powerful, and determined. I am very lucky to live in a place where women are pretty well treated, but one way I think I could relate to some of these women is how my grandfather views women. Now don’t get me wrong, I think my grandfather is a lovely man, but he is a firm believer that men have their own role to play and women have their own role as well. He thinks that only the women should do the dishes and will always tell us that we have work to do, but says nothing to the boys in the family.

NYCLU

The individuals in these articles share common beliefs, but the way they differ is the places where they are struggling for equality. In Major Lisa Jaster’s story, she was working for equality in the work field. In the article, “Women’s Suffrage,” they talked about Women fighting for the right to vote. Lastly, in the article “‘My Stealthy Freedom,’: the Iranian Movement Against Compulsory Hijab”, they talk about how Masil Alinejad was fighting for equality in her country. As you can see, there are many diverse areas where women are less respected compared to men. All of these articles show some level of success and are working to finally have women be thought of as equals. For example Major Lisa Jaster overcomes the inequalities in the army by becoming one of the first army rangers. Then in the article, “Women’s Suffrage,”  it talks about women being able to vote. Both articles talked about women working hard for what they got, showing their success.

Obviously it is very hard to have success in this movement. While these strong women did accomplished their goals (or are in the process of doing so), they most definitely have faced some challenges along the way. Some people may not be aware of these challenges. For instance in the online movement, “My Stealthy Freedom”, they talk about women in Iran and how they have to cover up their faces. I mean I didn’t even know stuff like that was still going on. I thought women were, for the most part, pretty equal nowadays. I’m sure there are many other people like me who were wrong about that and don’t fully understand that women still have to fight for equality. I think if people want to be more aware of what issues dealing with this matter are, they can do more of their own research. Stereotypes are also a big issue, because people can often think that a person acts a certain way, just because they belong to a specific social group. People, particularly men, might think that women are delicate, weak, and live to serve their husband and kids. This perspective looks down upon women and associates them with negative traits. Women have much more to them and stereotypes can get in the way of people seeing their positive qualities.                                                                                                                                                 

A Better Balance

In conclusion, women are sadly, still not entirely equal, but we’re getting there. People are working very hard to prove that women are every bit as great as men and have shared their stories to inspire others to do the same. The stories they share are endless and show that women fight for equality in very diverse areas. People need to be aware of these issues and fight to make them right. Communities can work to better the knowledge of this subject in people by teaching it to young students in school. If you are a women, you need to know your worth and if anyone even tries to belittle you, work your hardest until they know your worth as well. This may be hard, but that’s why it needs to be done. One day women and men will become completely equal, but remember, it starts with you.