The Englishtenment Period and the Value of Women's Rights Article

The Englishtenment Period and the Value of Women's Rights - Article Example The fact that she is from China is telling and relevant. Chinese culture has not been known for gender equality, and in fact, women from the country have always been compelled to follow certain rules and strictures on how to behave. Foot binding, or the process of binding feet of girl-children so that they get deformed and resemble lotuses, is one of China’s anachronistic traditions. But the article is telling us that those days are drawing to an end and Chinese women are claiming their place and breaking new barriers. This recognition of women is one of the contributions of the Enlightenment period. To quote Carla Hesse, writing on women writers during the Enlightenment period, â€Å"the data on women writers suggests that the economic and commercial vision of the Enlightenment and Revolution opened up possibilities for female participation in an absolutely central arena of modern public life that was at odds with the dominant male conception of appropriate relations between the sexes.† How do we relate these Enlightenment values with the values of our times? In the modern days, the legitimacy of the struggle for women’s rights is largely accepted. Women are believed to be equal to men in most respects – they can work, vote, run for public office, and aspire towards their goals. Feminists all over the world have fought for these rights and have fought for the mainstreaming of gender values. Admittedly, there is still a lot that needs to be done and so much more than needs to be accomplished. In the developing world, women’s needs are still considered secondary to men, and in conflict and poverty situations, women tend to be at higher risk of hunger and malnutrition.