Women’s empowerment in Southeast Asia and Latin America : a comparative study of contemporary literature

Abstract

For generations, women in Southeast Asia have struggled for empowerment. Their chief antagonists in this quest have been time honored traditions and ideals which narrow their roles, and limit their involvement in society. In this region there is a tendency to compare with the West in general; yet comparing women in Southeast Asia to those in Developed Countries remains an uneven approach; instead, relating them to those in Developing Countries within the West − in this case in Latin America − allows us to find similarities through which we can view patterns and build objectives for the future. This study is centered in the research and analysis of the ascribed roles and stereotypes of women in Developing Countries, through contemporary literature which was used to sustain theories, arguments and findings. Colonization left an imprint on local traditions, altering the lives of women who typically found themselves at the heart of struggles over the definition of native culture. By reviewing literature from Southeast Asia and Latin America, the author examined how history has changed, how women evolved or retroceded. The use of comparison techniques served to evaluate the current situation of women in the regions under study; the roles analyzed – as daughters, wives and mothers – the patterns of behavior and women’s involvement in society – in education, work, religion and politics – show that Latin America shares with Southeast Asia similar backgrounds of colonial influence and, therefore, patriarchal systems and social ideals influenced by long established traditions which, in turn, have kept women disempowered or only in the first stages of empowerment.