Working Women: Socio-Cultural Practices and Modern World

It is hard to be a woman you’ll have to think like a man, act like a lady and looks like a

girl. The old practices barring women outside from work are abolishing, veil system is no

more so popular but practice of keeping women restricted to the home still alive. They

have been exploited and being exploited on the name of

religion, tradition, custom, culture, modernity and politics. Social feminist believes that

women are exploited by capitalist system at home and at work. Although due to

feminism media women enjoy equal power to men but still represented on

a stereotypical way and cannot enjoy equal power and authority as men enjoy. It reflects

unequal power in media institution.

Islam has given them equal rights of entrepreneur earn and possess property. Hazrat

Khajida partner of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) was also a working woman. Women is 47% of

population of Pakistan and only 24% is workforce. Most populous Pakistani working

women are Fatima Jinnah and Benazie Bhutto, Malala Yousafzai is another famous name

who works for women empowerment.

Today women are earned runner, keeper of the house, planner, and bill payer being a woman

she is powerful and assertive.8th March is an international women’s day for women’s rights.

Now women are working in the garment, handicrafts factories, in medical professions, and in

NGOs. education empowers women and law to make them independent by allowing them to

work in a comfortable environment. Now women are inventors, as Lamarr invented Wi-Fi,

women are president as Martha Washington. Gilen swallow Richard was the first American

woman who earned a degree in chemistry and accepted to any school of science and

technology. In 1960 with the feminist movement, women started working in the workforce and

also join the military during world war. Feminism believes in the social, economic, and political

equality of men and women and also works for working women but it does not mean that

women are superior to men. Feminism decrease domestic violence, women problems, gave her

right of education, same income what men earn at the same position (equal remuneration Act in

1976 for same pay of both men and women was passed), complaints cell for harassment (

constitution of complaints committee in Ministry of HRD for considering complains regarding

sexual harassment), initiate right of divorce and right of decision about pregnancy. It also

affects gender roles and division of labor within the household but it damages the concept of

‘ The happy housewife & and feminists were unable to find the solution of oppression of capitalist

and male domination in society.

In today’s world, if society changes and gives her opportunities she also has to face

challenges and issues in professional life as well as in personal life. She has to keep a balance

between personal and professional life. The women who are good in professional life can also

take care of the household and children in a better way. In professional life she can be a victim

of sexual harassment, interpersonal conflicts, bullying, discrimination, mental harassment, not

appreciated on earning better than men, physical assault and her fertility can decrease her

participation at workplace not only this but in her personal life people stereotype, stigmatize,

discriminate and consider herself as a shameless person sometimes .so women need to be self-

confident, know internet surfing and information technology, Mostly uneducated and people

who are not socialized in the better way think and behave in a traditional and bad way. We

should give awareness to those people and should give the right place to women in society, only

then we can make true progress and women can participate in every field and economic activity

of a country.

Suggestions to prevent poverty and dependency among working women:

In the world women experience the poverty rate inappropriately high in comparison to men this

is the feminization of poverty?

• Daycare and after school places should be established for children of working women.
• Men should be aware of caring for themselves and their families.
• Create jobs and increases wages of females.
• Organizations should give flexible work hours for women employee
• Take care of their Leaves and provide them sick leave when needed
• Organizations should give priority to women during the recruitment/hiring of staff.
• Establish work schedules that could work.
• A caregiver allowance should also be given to working women.
• Institutions should provide free medical treatment.
• Educate them and raise awareness among them about doing a job and earn income for the

upbringing of children.

• Keep them aware of health issues which they can face while working as professionals for

example anxiety disorder, depression, cancer, fatigue, fear, dizziness, and about nutritious diet.

• Try to do no harm to them.

In the end, I say that children should be socialized in the way that they always say no to

gender discrimination and women’s rights violence as a girl would be the mother of a man. We

should give awareness to people about employment, the status of women and should give the

right place to women in society, only then we can make true progress and women can

participate in every field and economic activity of a country.