Impact of revolution on Chinese women

 
In ancient China, women in the society were treated as a second class community for a long time. In the political, educational, communal level as well as family life too, women were treated as mediocre to men. As they were away from any kind of human rights which the men folks possessed, for each and everything women had to depend upon men. When they were children they were to obey their fathers, after that they have to obey their husbands and at last they have to obey their sons. In the ancient times, women didn’t enjoy any freedom of their own. “They are portrayed as “objects” sold off into marriage.” (Baker 2009). They had no stand of their own and in their whole life they were forced to suffer physically as well as mentally. For centuries, “women with bound feet” were a synonym for the female gender in China. (Chapter 1 historic liberation of Chinese women). After the Opium War by the supremacy of Western countries, a slight change came in the condition of women, but the women faced a great threat by the hostility of Japan. A large number of women and young children were the victims of the Japanese cruel act, and after their invasion in China, they raped thousands of women in the country. To overcome from this, Chinese women made an endless struggle, and it continued for centuries. The Reform movement had changed the situations of Chinese women. The first step of this was that they established schools for women, but it is difficult to destroy fully the old customs which forced towards the women. The women in China and Russia were still facing many problems. “There are many Chinese women who still find themselves in a marriage whose only benefit is to have children and a stable lifestyle.” (Nosotro 2007). Even though the Russia granted more human rights to women but in China, the women were forced to follow the old traditions. “From this we can see that China really did keep a tighter hold unto their traditional ways.” (Nosotro 2007).

To conclude, Analyzing the pages of world history, one can easily find the fact that each and every revolution in the world, in one way or other, provided various changes in social, religious, economic and political life of the womenfolk. Before the revolution, things were going in an opposite way to the traditional concept about women, that is, the better half of men. They were socially and lawfully submissive to their male partner. In the case of the Mexican women, one can see that the active participation of women in the Mexican revolution promoted notable changes in the stature of women. Russian revolution paved the way for a qualitative economic development of women. After the revolution, women folk in Russia and Mexico acquired a new status or a structured life style because of the implementation of certain laws. Through the reform movement during the time of the Opium war, Chinese women achieved significant developments in social, religious, economic and educational fields. In short, it is difficult to identify the changes of womenfolk in world history because the history has been marked in favour of patriarchal society. One can see the glimpses of revolutionary change and its impact on women’s life.

Iranian women and their revolutionary change
Regarding the women of pre-Revolutionary Iran, one can see them as keeping alien ideas, images and practices. Male chauvinism and very strict religious principles forced them to lead their life within the limits of four walls. In order to keep women away from engaging non-Islamic activates or accessing public space, the religion and society implemented many rules. These rules also include keeping morality in dressing. These Iranian women had to face many domestic restrictions that made their life difficult. “One was the pressure of family attachment, domesticity, marriage and motherhood.” (Moghadam 2003, p.194).

Analysing the domesticity if Iran, there also existed the male supremacy and gender differences in handling familial affairs. These gender differences prevented Iranian women to come to the frontiers of society and imprint their own marks. The words of Valentine M. Moghadam make it clear when he gives a clear picture about the Iranian women in the pre-Revolutionary period. According to Moghadam, “Because of the physiological and psychological differences, husbands and wives in the family and men and women in the society, were to have different roles and expectations.” (Moghadam 2003, p.194). The Islamic thinkers were so strict in following the rules of their religion and they strongly recommended sexuality as sacred duty which should be divinely ordained. But one can infer that there had also existed a kind of sexual superiority among men and it is crystal clear when reading through the writings of the women writers which are filled with female sexuality. Many writers criticises this factor of tying female to stake ignoring their moral rights.