The rights of women have grown from being just a single movement to an ongoing struggle. Women across the world are continuing to fight for their rights in almost every aspect of life. Judy Brady satirically championed for the rights of women in her classic writing “I want a wife”. She listed down wife duties in her essay. The point being to portray the expectation husbands had on their wives to perform duties they themselves could not consider doing. This is evident when the writer who is also a woman was asking for a wife “I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother” (Brady 1). The writer was pointing out that women were exhausted with their day-to-day struggles and would want to enjoy the entitlements men had, revealing the unequal roles men and women held in the society, thus bringing about the theme of women’s rights.
Women’s rights are human rights, which every human is supposed to claim. Women are entitled to political, economic and social equality something that has been ignored for ages. The violation of women’s rights, a vice that has ravaged the universe for years, has seen brave women rising and fighting for their rights. Movements too have been started for this cause, for example feminism. These are groups of women with the same interest, committed to ensuring that all women can fully enjoy their rights on an equal footing with men. Brady was one of the women on the forefront of the struggle for equality as her work appeared in the premier issue of the feminist magazine Ms. This has been clearly started in the very first lines of the essay ‘I Want a Wife’ (1). Feminists and heroines are fighting endlessly so that no woman is denied her rights. All women have the right to education, right to own property, right to live free from violence and discrimination, to enjoy the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health.
Right to education is a basic right everyone on earth should be enjoying. Women have the right to attend schools, graduate and further their education even after marriage. Nobody should be denied such a basic right. Women were being denied the chance to further their education at the time Judy was penning down her work. After marriage, women could not continue with their school, a classic example of women being denied their rights to education. This is discrimination of women on the grounds of gender, since the males could freely continue with their education even after marriage.
The writer started her work by complaining that she would like to continue with her education. She was not in school that is after she got married whereas her husband was enjoying the privilege of continuing with his studies. This is shown in the line “I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me” (Brady 1). It is unjust and unfair to women not to have a chance to go back to school after marriage. It creates inequality, a vice that should be kicked out. It is a right that should be enjoyed by everyone.
Taking care of a family is a responsibility that should be shared by both parents. It is not a responsibility for women only as many men in the society expects. Brady in her essay wrote that, “I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children” (1). This statement alone is enough to show that women were being left behind in homes as their husbands went to work. They had no other duties but to be housewives and attend to their families whilst their husbands were away.
Men on the other hand were working, earning money and occupying all the jobs available. This is what is termed as inequality at the highest level. Feminist rose to fight this in every aspect, Brady being one of them. They wanted women to enjoy their humanly rights of going to work and earning money. This does not mean that they wanted to replace the men at the work places but to establish a balance at the work place. The idea of male domination even in work places should be abolished. It is only right if women too have positions in organizations, not only being given positions but also a right to occupy high ranks based on merit.
The writer continues to highlight the expectation husbands have on their wives. Expecting women to perform duties they themselves would not want to perform. This situation is whereby a husband wants his wife to arrange to lose time at work, take pay cuts and use the little she gets to cater for the family. This is not just discrimination against women but inhumanity. Brady says “my wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while my wife is working” (1). Husbands were subjecting their wives to suffering and in turn having an effect on their mental health. This is considered an aspect of violence against women, as women have a right to enjoy the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health.
Women have a right to express themselves a fundamental human right no one should be denied. While writing down her essay, Judy brought out a situation where women were not required or rather expected to complain of the many duties at their disposal. Inequality rises up here because it was only men allowed to express their feelings. This statement from the essay outlines all these, “I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies” (Brady 2). Males are being allowed to complain and express their feelings as the society allows them to do so. The society, which has allowed men to express themselves, is the same society, which expects women to be quiet about their feelings. Gender equality is a topic that should be taken serious by everyone in the society.
Sexual and reproductive rights should be given to every female, as it is their rights. It is the right of women to say no, to any sexual advancement even from their husbands. Women are allowed to own their body and do anything they will with it. Men have no say whatsoever with any decision women make on their body. Brady depicted in her essay that this right was being denied to them when she said, “I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. In addition, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children” (2). It is not right at all for men to demand sex from women any time they want it and expect women not to ask them of the same favours when they want it. This brings about inequality women are facing almost every day, something that should not rule out free world.
Rights activists and advocates for equality stipulates that in case of separation between parents, the responsibility of the children should be shared. A case where a man leaves all the responsibility of taking care of their kids on a woman, as he moves on to a new life should be banished at all cost. It does not create equality and at the same time, it leaves much burden on the mother which is a form of oppression. This can eventually have a negative impact on her, as well as lead to depression. Women have a right to be free from oppression and violence.
Women rights being the basic human rights means that the rights men are entitled to should be the same rights women are accorded. Equality should be fought for by everyone not only women. They are the victims of inequality, oppression and violence from the society. Everyone should join in in the fight for their rights, as they are humans too. By doing so, there will be gender balance at work places and gender equality all over the world. Judy Brady has successfully highlighted this, and through her work and many other heroines around the world, the double standards shown by men were eradicated.
Work Cited
Brady, Judy. “I want a wife.” Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Web.