Abstract
This paper provides a discussion of Susan Glaspell's "Trifles." The thesis argument is that because they live in an unjust system controlled by patriarchy, the women in the story band together and create their own form of justice for Minnie to help create a more level playing field between men and women.

From the Paper
"In Susan Glaspell's "Trifles", a woman is suspected of murdering her husband in his sleep. Minnie Wright is a lonely farm wife whose husband is austere and offers her little compassion or nurturing. When the Sheriff and County Attorney come to investigate the crime scene, with them is Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters respectively, the wife of a witness, Mr. Hale and the Sheriff, Mr. Peters. Throughout the story, Glaspell provides us with symbols that unite Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters where Minnie's fate is concerned. Knowing..."

Tags:gender, sexism, roles, oppression, control, victim, perpetrator, stereotypes

Abstract
This paper discusses patriarchy, the social system still prevalent today, whereby males are still perceived as the "strong" one and that boys naturally will be more active, demanding, noisy, and competitive than girls. The paper concludes that what began in prehistoric times as a cooperative system for survival, has become an albatross and we are stuck with living in a patriarchal society where women are to some extent, still oppressed.

From the Paper
"Boys will consistently get more attention and more of the teacher's time. While girls will be expected to raise their hands before speaking (and corrected if they don't), boys will be allowed to blurt out answers in class. Girls will be "less likely to be called on by name ...asked fewer complex and abstract questions, receive less praise or constructive feedback, and ... given less direction on how to do things..." (Sadker, 2002, p. 239). Later on, boys will enroll in advanced computer classes, but girls will be in word processing and other clerical support programs (Sadker, 2002). Eventually, all this will be reflected in the careers they choose. Women will enroll in college programs to be teachers, social workers, nurses, and librarians, but only 7-14% of the men will enroll in these programs. Men will go instead where there is money and power."

Tags:stereotypical, girls, women, educational, sexism

Abstract
This paper explains that, in "Great Expectations", Charles Dickens, notorious for his social commentaries and criticisms on the Victorian life, focuses on the importance of the traditional roles of women by emphasizing what happens when these traditional roles become altered. The author points out that, by including destructive women in his novel, Dickens is reinforcing the importance of Victorian patriarchy and domesticity. The paper describes three destructive women from the novel: Mrs. Gragery, who is not a good mother and is indignant in her responsibilities: Miss Havisham, who is not only self-destructive but also destroys Estelle with her upbringing and Estelle, who is destructive in practically every relationship with men.

From the Paper
"Mrs. Gragery is the first woman we encounter that possesses a destructive personality. She does not see motherhood as anything she should enjoy. In fact, she despises it. She tells Pip, "I'd never do it again! I know that. I may truly say I've never had this apron of mine off, since born you were. It's bad enough to be a blacksmith's wife, and him a Gragery, without being your mother" (Dickens 7). Here we see how she resents the responsibility of caring for her brother as well as her lot in life. We also read that she not only raised Pip by hand but that she also ruled Joe with her hand as well. We read that she was "much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I suppose that Joe Gragery and I were both brought up by hand" (5). She is not happy being a housewife and she does not regard motherhood as a worthy responsibility. In fact, she seems to make Pip pay for the fact that she must raise him by wearing an apron that is "full of pins and needles" (6) so she is not easily accessible. Here we can see how Mrs. Gragery is many things, none of which resemble a traditional wife and mother. In the novel, she is maimed. With her character, Dickens is painting the portrait of a woman that has deliberately stepped outside her traditional role as wife and mother."

Tags:commentaries, traditional, patriarchy, domesticity, motherhood

Abstract
The paper compares and contrasts Dangaremgba's "Nervous Conditions" and Ba's "So Long a Letter", emphasizing the issue of the family structure and impact of patriarchy on the lives of women in Africa.

From the Paper
"In Mariama Ba's "So Long a Letter" and in Tsitsi Dangarembga's "Nervous Conditions", the reader encounters two African families that function in societies that are dominated by patriarchy and in which the lives of women are largely shaped and influenced by forces that are beyond their control. In this essay, the family structures that are presented by both of these African women novelists will be compared and contrasted. The report will further reconsider how patriarchy shapes family relations in some..."

Tags:African literature, family, Tsitsi Dangaremgba, Mariama Ba, patriarchy

Abstract
The following paper will look at the thesis presented in a chapter entitled, "Gender Ideology," and assert that, on balance, the chapter is comprehensive and gives a passable defence for the notion that women-dominated religions tend to be supportive of societal expectations about the differing roles of men and women. However, the thesis of the paper is not fool-proof and it could just as easily be argued (and is argued in this critique) that female-dominated religions (or religions in which women play a key role) are transgressive in some important ways.

From the Paper
Gender and Religion: The Relationship between Patriarchy and Religion The following paper will look at the thesis presented in a chapter entitled, "Gender Ideology," and assert that, on balance, the chapter is comprehensive and gives a passable defence for the notion that women-dominated religions tend to be supportive of societal expectations about the differing roles of men and women. However, the thesis of the paper is not fool-proof and it could just as easily be argued (and is argued in this critique) that female-dominated religions (or religions in which women play a key role) are transgressive in some important ways. The main thesis of the article is that, while religions dominated by men

Tags:religion, patriarchy, gender

Abstract
This paper addresses the Indian Act's effects on Canadian aborginal women and the failure of C-31 to correct all abuses. The paper examines the arguments that the Indian Act inflicted patriarchy on matriarchal native societies, but emphasizes that all Native cultures were not without patriarchy and sexism of their own. The paper provides various legal and social scientific references.

From the Paper
"Canadian paternalism has been many times mentioned in relation to the Indian Act (1869) as legislation that matched counterparts elsewhere in former British colonies on matters of indigenous or other specially recognized groups. It is known in the Canadian case that the Indian Act bestowed special liabilities upon Aboriginal women that strongly affected matters of choice and their fundamental Aboriginal status as women who did not marry status Indians lost their privileges, however limited, just as their children were designated non-status Indians."

Tags:canada, indian act, women

Abstract
This paper discusses a Caribbean family structure and women's power vis-a-vis men. The paper also discusses matrifocal emphasis observed in many Caribbean families, but also the sway of stereotypes, and as these are constantly disproved in a varied and international Caribbean population.

From the Paper
"Historical Challenges to Patriarchy in Caribbean Families. Introduction Patriarchy has been plain the many Caribbean families but historical factors also produce different presentations of masculinity, and a profound matrifocality as varied forces. This paper refers to a variety of sources to introduce the Caribbean family as often different from the so-called nuclear family that once prevailed in North America, or elsewhere in the West, as discussed by Luxton. (1995). One finds great variety in Caribbean families, and also, patterns alluded to that indicate a distinctive Caribbean history."

Tags:caribbean, family, patriarchy

Abstract
This paper provides an argument that the nature of relations between the sexes in the marriage of Monica and Edmund Madden, in George Gissing's "The Odd Women", presents an assessment of the status of women in Victorian society that is akin to the assessment on the same subject by John Stuart Mill in "The Subjection of Women."

From the Paper
"The writings of John Stuart Mill in "The Subjection of Women" and "The Odd Women" by George Gissing both demonstrate the status of women in late Victorian society. This status, apparent in the writings of both authors, is one that is subjugated to patriarchal dominance. Mill likens the status of women to a tree or hedge in a garden that is nurtured and pruned by men. Mill makes the claim that real justice in society would make no distinction based..."

Tags:gender, domestic sphere, identity, freedom, justice, equality, nature, development, patriarchy, beauty

Abstract
An investigation of women's rights in Afghanistan. The author examines the rules and laws that women must abide by concerning work, travel and education, punishment and specific difficulties that they encounter such as health care. The paper provides a look at some personal stories.

OUTLINE

I. Introduction
A. Who are the Taliban?
B. Life Before the Taliban

II. Rules
A. May not work
B. Ban on education
C. Travel
D. Contact with males
E. Hiding in home
F. Dress
G. Bathing
III. Punishment
Death for traveling with man not her mahram
Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram, for having non-covered ankles.
Women have been shot at for leaving their homes without a male escort to receive medical care.
IV. Specific difficulties
A. Employment
B. Health care
V. Personal stories
A. SUMAYYAH KARIMI
VI. Conclusion

From the Paper
"The plight of women in Afghanistan has received much media attention since the start of the United States war on terrorism. This war has focused on Afghanistan because the Taliban government allowed their country to be used as a safe haven by terrorists. While the women of Afghanistan have lived under restrictions unfamiliar to many women living in Western countries, since the Taliban took control of the majority of Afghanistan in 1996, they have been subjected to a series of rules and punishments unprecedented in any other country of the world."

Tags:freedom, rights, treat, power, control, authority, patriarchy

Abstract
This paper argues that women must hold more political positions in their nations' governments. The paper describes that women are fifty percent of the population and therefore should have their fifty percent of their vote represented by women. It demonstrates that women representatives from industrialized countries demonstrated greater concern over issues, such as birth control and childcare, equal pay for casual work, affirmative action and sexual harassment measures, and those in developing countries, focused more on access to childhood immunization, clean and constant water supply, delivery of primary health care services and affordable food sources. The paper illustrates those ground breaking women who have held high political office.

From the Paper
"The Second Global Congress of Women in Politics conducted a study on the presence of women in national parliaments throughout the world and discovered that, in the last 25 years, the participation of women in parliaments from 1975 to 1998 grew only slightly from 11% to 12.7% (Kyodo 1998). Women in Nordic countries have the highest rate of participation at a combined average of 36.7% in the two houses of Congress. Arab women have the lowest level of participation at only 3.3%. Asian figures rose from 3% to over 12% in the last 25 years, but there is nothing exciting about this, since Asia holds more than the total world population, half of which is female. (Kyodo)"

Tags:patriarchy, education, global, congress, parliaments, female, populations, vote, voting, rights, equal