Women in Algeria are making a silent move, which reminds me of ’storming of the Bastille’ but in here, I am not hinting at the noiseless and creeping revolution part instead I am stressing at the collective move which the women as a whole are making towards their emancipation.
More and more women are becoming conscious of their individuality and hence are taking plunge in nearly all walks of life. Right from the education sector till the administration realm, they could be seen fluttering the flag of their identity.
1. Women comprises of 70% of lawyers and 60% judges in the nation.
2. Women in huge numbers have occupied higher position in the field of medicine.
3. They have outnumbered men in higher studies, since, 60% of the university seats have been occupied by the fairer sex.
4. Their contribution is more to house hold income their male counter part.
There’s hardly any arena left where women have not made a mark. They could be seen driving buses and cabs. But even then they do not enjoy a high profile position, since they represent 20% of the work force only.
Hugh Roberts, a historian has asserted that unlike previously, educational qualifications are not taken as a plausible ladder in the direction of economic well being; hence more and more men discontinue their studies and decide to leave country in search of some employment. But in here, the perception of women is all together different, they do not tread on to the steps of the men instead they go in for higher degrees, which becomes instrumental in placing them in an improved standard of living.
This does not mean that women have abandoned their conventions rather they are still carrying forward their religious ideologies and are modern in their approach towards life. They could be seen fully clad in their Islamic cloak, visiting mosques and driving vehicles.
Sociologists have noticed that the age of marriage for women too have experienced an inclination. Formerly, women used to marry around 17 or 18 but now, they prefer to get betrothed at the age of 29, since, they have become more career oriented than before.
Some scholars have even gone to the extent of anticipating that if the trend continues then the time is not far when women could be seen handling all the administrative services in this strife torn region. They have personified women as Algeria’s most potent force for social change. Abdel Nasser Djabi, a professor of sociology at the University of Algiers holds the view, Women, and the women’s movement, could be leading us to modernity.
As could be expected (from a chauvinistic driven country) some socio- political groups are not ready to digest the powerful emergence of women on the scene. They have completely put the blame o’er the shoulders of the fairer sex postulating that the country is experiencing such turmoil because of women’s ‘new role’. Some have even gone to the extent of saying that women are ‘violating’ their traditional faith.
No matter what people are concocting, women are enjoying the world out side their stereotypical shells and ‘are brimming with enthusiasm’. This is actually what is required, before changing the attitude of male driven societies, it is very important to change the mind sets of the women folk.
