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The Role of Women in GreeceThe Role of Women in GreeceSince the ancient time, the role of women in Greece has been differentiated by class. Just before the World War II ends, most Greek people made their living either from agriculture or fishing. Most commonly, these activities were passed down from one generation to another, and it was the men of Greece who were responsible of transmitting their traditions. Unfortunately, their common view about women was that women were inferior, sexually dangerous, and too vulnerable. In addition to that, they were allowed to exercise authority over others, but only to a very limited extent; very informally, and in only very specific parts of her social acquaintance such as her extended family. The traditional Greek women have always been required to care for her family, and to remain submissive to her husband/whoever heads her family. In villages, women were taught to be sexually reserved, in order to prevent improper conducts from men. As soon as a woman gets married, she would be expected to evaluate her husband’s and her children’s behaviour, in addition to protecting her family’s honour. When the Western influence came forth, some noticeable changes were apparent in the external lifestyle of Greek women. As they started to imitate western women’s behaviours, they started to lose their very own fundamental social and economic roles possessed by their counterparts in the rural Greek society. Relationships between a rural Greek woman with her family and relatives remain intact, whereas urban Greek women started to lose touch with their original belief. They began to lose bonds with her family, have less informal roles, as well as begin to live life the way western women do. After World War II ended, urbanization and industrialization brought about massive changes in Greek society. Western alliances started to internationalize the image of Greek people. Greek women were, at the first time, finally allowed to vote in early 1950s. In addition to that, they also began to earn significantly higher wages than what they earned before the World War. And most importantly, women’s movements were born. It is an unfortunate fact that the Greek military government tried to eliminate the women’s movements in Greece. Around the 1930s, the government of Ioannis Metaxas fierfecully attempted to repress the League of Women’s Rights. In a similar attempt to repress women’s movement under the regime of Georgios Papadopoulos, the Greek women (especially students) were demanded to be subservient, follow strict dress codes, and stay away from mix-sexed social gatherings. Finally when Papadopoulos’s regime was toppled, demands for women’s liberation and equality rapidly increased. The constant pressure from the women’s movements at last bore fruits. In 1983, under Andreas Papandreou’s first PASOK administration, the Family Law of 1983, which promotes equality of the sexes, was declared. Help our community! Please leave a comment or review, |
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