The role of women, which had begun to change in the 1930s, was greatly
altered under the influence of ideology and of economic realities. In
social doctrine and law, women are considered equal to men and are
continually urged to demand their rights in the home and in the
community. They have also gained considerable independence of movement
through the expanded employment opportunities available to them in a
developing economy. In 1968, 80 percent of employable women worked
outside the home. A large percentage of them worked because of the
necessity to supplement the family income rather than through choice;
nevertheless, the fact that they do work outside the home has altered
the pattern of family life and the relationships of family members.
Working mothers must leave their young children in state-operated
nurseries or with relatives and thereby relinquish much of their
influence in molding the children into adults. Evidence indicates that
few mothers like to leave young children in nurseries, preferring to
leave them in the care of trusted relatives or friends. Fathers appear
to be playing a greater role in the raising of children than they did in
the traditional family.
Housekeeping is still considered to be entirely or predominantly the
responsibility of women, whether they work or not. The working woman
spends much time every day after work standing in line at food markets
and other stores, buying the daily necessities. Household appliances and
convenience foods are scarce luxuries; therefore, housekeeping is a
time-consuming and tiring activity. Even peasant women must take care of
their households and children after putting in the required hours in
cooperative labor, whereas formerly they could fit their field work in
and around their other responsibilities.
As a consequence of these changes, the traditional roles of family
members have been altered. The dominance of the head of the family has
given way to a greater distribution of decisionmaking and a greater
independence on the part of other family members. As family members
spend less time together, the emphasis in daily life is shifted from the
family to the outside world. Persons come to be looked at more as
individuals than as members of a certain family. Individuality and
personal achievement become as important as family background in
determining the status of an individual and his nuclear family.
Similarly, individual action or personal status no longer reflects on
the larger family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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