Theme 5: Women's Status Is a Sensitive Indicator

Across cultures, women's status (legal rights, educational opportunities, public visibility, freedom of movement and dress) is often the most contested element of tradition-modernization tensions. When societies want to assert traditional identity against modernization, they often do it through controlling women's lives. When societies want to demonstrate modernization, they often do it through expanding women's roles. The pattern is consistent across many religions and regions.