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The historical relegation of women to second-class status has deep roots across religious, political, and cultural domains. In many societies, patriarchal structures ensured that women's voices and contributions were silenced or minimised.

 

Yet, their resilience continues to reshape narratives and challenge inequities.
In religious history, interpretations of sacred texts often reinforced inequality.

 

Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas, in his work Summa Theologica, of 1274, asserted that “woman is defective and misbegotten”, a view that echoed through centuries of ecclesiastical doctrine. Yet more inclusive readings have emerged in modern theological thought. Elaine Pagels, writing in The Gnostic Gospels (1979), challenged traditional dogmas, revealing early Christian sects that viewed women as spiritual equals.

Politically, women faced legal exclusion from power until hard-won reforms. In the UK, the Representation of the People Act 1918 granted voting rights to women over 30, but full electoral equality came only in 1928. Emmeline Pankhurst, a suffragette leader, famously declared: “We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.”
Cultural perceptions have lagged behind legislative progress. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) crystallized the systemic roots of female subordination, arguing: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” De Beauvoir dissected the constructed nature of gender roles and the expectation of female passivity.

Even as barriers fell, setbacks surfaced. In 2023, UN Women reported that one in three women globally still experience violence, underscoring enduring power imbalances. In her book Feminism Is for Everybody, published in 2000, Scholar bell hooks described such violence as “the tragic consequence of patriarchal thinking that sees women as inferior beings".

Yet advances continue to shift norms. Female leadership has redefined strength—consider Queen Elizabeth I (who reigned from 1558 to 1603), who proclaimed, “I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.” Her reign defied contemporary expectations and reshaped monarchy as a space for female authority.
Contemporary movements—#MeToo, Equal Pay campaigns, and the education of girls in underserved regions—extend the arc of reform.

 

The ongoing challenge remains: not only to grant women rights but to ensure their lived equality. As writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie states, “Culture does not make people. People make culture.”
Women’s struggle for parity is far from over, but their reassertion of identity continues to erode old hierarchies—making space, at last, for a more just narrative.