The status of women around the world and whether it has changed over Essay - 1

The status of women around the world and whether it has changed over time - Essay Example There have been different women through the centuries who have succeeded in having adventurous lives in spite of social customs that were created to confine them to the home. Khaizuran. Al-Khayzuran was a woman who travelled extensively in an era when women were severely restricted in all aspects of social life. She was born at the height of the Abbasid Empire, in Yemen. However, she would be kidnapped by Bedouin traders who then sold her to the Abbasid court as a slave (Hansen and Curtis 253). After she began to serve in the house of the next Caliph Al-Mahdi, she became personally involved with him and married him. She would bear two future caliphs Harun Al-Rashid, and Al-Hadi. In spite of living in a society that deeply oppressed its womenfolk, Al-Khayzuran was able to acquire and wield political power after marrying the most important man in the kingdom (Spodek 57). Her relatives were even awarded positions due to her influence in court. She also deeply influenced her sons who wou ld be future rulers. Even though Al-Khayzuran wielded unusual power for a woman of her day, she only managed to do this because she was the wife of the caliph. The position of women in her society did not benefit from her ascension to power. Gudrid. In some cases, women actually made the decision to go against the grain and take power for themselves. Gudrid, who was the sister-in-law of Leif Eriksson made just such a decision. Leif Eriksson was the man who landed on the American continent five centuries before Christopher Columbus did. After reaching the New World, Leif left never to return. Gudrid, however, wanted to remain there. She attempted to settle in the land that was named ‘Vinland’. Even though women were not viewed as warriors in the same way that men were, they had some more freedoms than their sisters in the medieval era would have in the next few centuries. Viking women, like Gudrid, could own ships as well as farms (Hansen and Curtis 286). Sometimes they relocated with their husbands, just as Gudrid did, when their men went in search of new lands to conquer. However, during such campaigns, they were often left behind to tend to commercial activities as well as the lands that were left behind when their husbands left. Moreover, even in campaigns, there were many times when women were required on trips. Li Qing-Zhao. While this type of freedom cannot be compared to that enjoyed by women in the 21st century, it was still much more than that enjoyed by women in other areas in the world. For example, for Li Qing-Zhao, who lived during the Song Dynasty life was much harder. Women in the Song dynasty were confined to homes and could not hold business related or political leadership positions. In addition, they could only improve their status by bearing male children. Li Qing-Zhao was a unique woman of her time who became a poet in spite of all the restrictions that she was bound by. She also travelled to many places as a result of adversit ies such as invasions from other nations. After her husband lost his battle with Malaria, Li Qing-Zhao would spend the rest of her life wandering from place to place. When she settled in Hangzhou in 1132, her writings in