Asmi Garg | Blog Post #1 | Inquiry

The inquiry question I have chosen is, “How much influence does social environment have on the advancement of women?”

First of all, this question is relevant in today’s world because, since the 1970’s, women in the US and Europe have increasingly reported feeling unsatisfied with their lives. My goal for this project is to find out why, starting with looking all the way back to a historical perspective.

According to the Population Media Center, women feeling patriarchally oppressed, both medically and in the home, has been adamant even in ancient times; dating back to the agricultural revolution. The National Institute of Health also attributes patriarchal beliefs to overlooking the gravitas of women’s health issues, labelling numerous ailments as “feminine problems,” which in turn perpetuated the issue of stereotypes and objectification.

In many scenarios, completely sane women have stood witness to being labelled as “insane,” “in a state of madness” or even being subject to practices like lobotomies, or electric shock therapy, because of easily treatable conditions such as epilepsy. In recent history, there was an ongoing trend of women removing their reproductive organs as recommended by doctors in order to treat “mental disorders caused by (unproved) menstrual disorders,” thus leading to even more oppressive social norms of how women should behave, pressuring women to fit into cultural normalcy.

The patriarchy’s outstanding effect on women’s rights has been felt bleeding even into today’s society. Gender inequality, gender-based violence, and reproductive rights are all issues that have been raised by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, in accordance with today’s youth feeling the lasting effects of a traditional patriarchal society.

Today, many women, like those in the United States, Syria, and the Philippines have been speaking out on some of these issues, providing hope to a subdued population of women everywhere. My goal for this project is to create awareness, and bring attention to this topic of my interest, as I believe it is an important part of a conversation for women and men alike everywhere.