How did a major religious, intellectual, or political transformation Essay

How did a major religious, intellectual, or political transformation effect feminist ideas and demands focus on one such transaction - Essay Example Some women like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Mary Tudor, Catherine, the great, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and some others have achieved a prominent place in the annals of history but their numbers are negligible on the wider context of the social order. Those were exceptional women in exceptional time who were able to rise above their gender. Though none of these exemplary women leaders were able to influence the socio-cultural role of women to any considerable extent but they were able to ignite some ambitions and desires within the women to question their traditional subservient role. The dictums of French revolution which legally denied women any rights as an individual became the foundation for the early feminist movement in Europe. After the French revolution in 1789, Declaration of Rights of Man and of the citizen (gmu) provoked women activists to demand inclusivity. Olympe de Gouges, a noted playwright, published DÃ ©claration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne1 (1791) and became a torch bearer for the upcoming feminist movement. The American civil war brought forth the focus on the changing role of women in the American society. The sporadic movement for empowering women actually started making significant stride after the WWII when the women had to go out of their homes to earn and support their families. The changing paradigms of socio-economic compulsion became the major propellant for the feminist movement in the West. Basic right for self expression and empowerment of women increasingly became a major issue for the societies at large. Feminism can be broadly defined as empowerment of women whereby they are able to exert one’s choices for their own good by implementing them. In the contemporary time, empowerment has become one of the most crucial issues among the women activists as it directly influences the welfare of the women and the society at large. Empowerment facilitates