The position and privileges offered to women in society have been the basis of the controversial movements to fight for women’s rights rather known as feminist movements. The feminist movements have been behind a sequence of political and social movements that champion the equal rights of women in all aspects of life. The aspect of feminist movements can be dated as early as the 1400s whereby famous authors such as Christine de Pizan championed equal economic, political, and social rights for women in the society through her writings (Andersen and Witham, 2011). The growth of the feminist movements has seen a sequence of waves that have been held more in institutions such as universities and political spaces. The grievances staged by the feminist movements have resulted in more women being enrolled in schools, the political arena, and even in male-dominated workspaces.
The feminist movements have presented an array of inequality and discrimination grievances against women in society since time immemorial. Among the issues that have been presented by the feminist movements include domestic violence, sexual harassment, economic inequality, body shaming, and female genital mutilation. Gender inequality in religious and political systems also are issues that have been presented by feminist movements.
Another social movement that is related to gender equality and women’s rights is the gender-based violence against women movements (Council of Europe Portal, 2022). The ancient society had been built using the patriarchal frames resulting in the society reducing the role of a woman in the society as a housewife only. Women were taken to be objects and as a sign of prestige which led to gender-based violence against women. Currently, women are experiencing forms of gender-based violence from toxic partners in unstable relationships. Nevertheless, the gender-based violence movements play a major role in ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice and are charged accordingly by the law.
References
Andersen, M., & Witham, H. D. (2011). Thinking about females: Sociological perspectives on sex and gender.
Council of Europe Portal. (2022). Feminism and Women’s Rights Movements. Gender Matters. Web.