Today we are going to deal with the notion of Idea of progress which refers to the improvement of the human condition thanks to technical advances and the evolution of society through the social advances.
To illustrate this notion we will talk about women’s condition in Britain. Indeed, it relates to the idea of progress because during the 19th and 20th centuries women’s condition changed drastically.
This leads us to wonder how women’s situation has evolved alongside of centuries.
So first we will reflect on their conditions during the Victorian era and before. Then we will address the issue of the fights they led to change this situation, and finally we will tackle the issue of women’s condition in today’s society.
First of all we are going to talk about the place and the role of women in the Victorian era in England. Before and during the Victorian era, so the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), women were considered as submissive creatures worshipped by their husband and sons ,and had to be a perfect wife, mother and housekeeper. In Coventry Patmore’s poem: “The Angel in the House” ,the woman is depicted as a wife who has for sole and only goal to satisfy her husband and tu fulfill each of his desires.Therefore this poem illustrates one of the most important values of the Victorian society : the family where the wife and mother is its central figure. Queen Victoria gave the example of this woman devoted to her family (she gave birth to 9 children) and she became the epitome of motherhood. But this period when women's voices were silenced and when they were reduced to simple housekeepers and handmaids of their children and husband was abolished.
Considering that, women decided to react against their situation and the injustices they experienced, and decided to fight for their rights. Thus creating the movement that acts, still today, to establish and achieve political, economic, personal and social equality of sexes : feminism.
In the late 19th and 20th centuries, these fights were led by women who belonged to different social classes members of the women’s organisation named Suffragette. In this association, they were engaged in the same fight : wrestling against the consideration of being inferior to men, and to get the same rights. But as they were not being heard during their peaceful demonstrations and abused by the government, the Suffragettes decided to use violence to make themselves heard. That’s what Mrs Pankhurst advocates in her speech. This speech is an extract from the movie named like the feminist organisation : ”Suffragette”. In this document Mrs Pankhurst calls all women who can to strive against their oppressors.
Mrs Pankhurst said “Be militant ,each of you in your own way [...] We have been left with no alternative but to defy this government”.
Thereby, Mrs Pankhurst delivers a message of rebellion to improve women’s condition which contributes to their progress in society, progressing little by little towards a better society with equal rights and chances for all, men as women.
Nowadays, the fight for gender equality continues. In many countries women don’t have the same rights as men. Among other things, they don’t have an equal pay. Many women have decided to carry on the fight. One of them, Emma Watson, delivered a speech at the headquarter of the United Nations on September 2014 to remind that men and women have to be set on an equal footing.
This British actress is also the Ambassador of the campaign HeForShe which aims at ending gender inequality.The HeForShe solidarity movement was created by UN Women in June 2014. This campaign mobilizes people of every gender identity in the world as advocates of gender equality. To clarify the state of the current situation, Great Britain has a very valuable evaluation instrument.
Indeed, each year a highly detailed official report entitled Sex and Power, published by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, is brought out. This Commission plays an active role in the fight against all forms of discrimination (against women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities), receiving complaints, drafting official reports and lobbying government and social actors.
To conclude, women’s conditions have evolved since the 19th century, when women’s roles were reductive for them with, as we said, only one goal, be the perfect wife and mother. But fortunately things have changed alongside the centuries, with more rights for women and a much reduced equality gap between men and women. All of this allowed, among others, women who fights for their rights to improve their condition, as we saw with the fight of Mrs Pankhurst and all the suffragettes. But the gap between both genders remains present, and still today, women and men work together to make this difference disappear in the name of feminism but also of gender-equality, as we saw in the Emma Watson’s speech.
Thereby thanks to the intervention and the help of women of all times, we are coming closer and closer to a more equal world and society for everyone.
That's why thanks to that, the world is progressing, and our presentation revolved around the notion Idea of Progress. Although for decades British women have gained more and more rights, there are still many inequalities between men and women today and so this leads us to wonder: When will women be totally equal to men ?
