Society thinks that women have traits such as diligent and caring that are not suitable to be a breadwinner, therefore all of the responsibility of domestic courses
belongs to women Fakih, 2008: 22. In poor families, where women should go to work, women have double
burdens. It is because women should combine the job outside the house with all of the domestic courses that are unequally shared for them Fakih, 2008: 22-23.
Moreover, Sen 2003: 3 explains household duty as “a division of labour” in which women combine such work with various inescapable and unequally shared
household burdens. The inequality of burden not only happens in family but also in derivative inequalities in employment and recognition in the outside world in
which women suffer from “accumulation of burden”. Therefore, many women accept the unequal shared of burden because they take it for granted their role in
the society.
3. Women’s Struggles against Gender Discrimination
The word “struggle” becomes a common term in feminism. Struggle against gender discrimination is generally accepted and agreed by feminism
Gamble, 1998: viii. They see their struggle as an effort used to reach the goal in this context is the struggle against gender discrimination. Women struggle against
gender discrimination appear in male dominated system that is called as patriarchy. Women’s struggle in patriarchy system started since eighteenth century
when some women writers vocalized their ideas about gender discrimination through literary works. As stated by Cuddon 199: 316, feminism begins in the
late of 18th century, which has purpose to fights for women’s rights. At that time, some notable writers are actively campaigning to voice about gender
discrimination through their writing. It was Marry Wollstonecraft with her works A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1972 that widely known as the first
works which voiced for women’s rights. According to Tong 2004: 14, Wollstonecraft denies that
women are, by nature, more “pleasure seeking and pleasure giving than men”. Furthermore, she also emphasizes that men should not
consider women as their sexual object, where men can fulfil their sexual desire and women do not think that men is their toy where they can get sexual pleasure
from them. If the inferior assumptions toward women still exist, it will make men become more selfish and superior. This work encourages women to be
autonomous, brave and independent to fight against any gender discrimination and making decision by their own.
Other figures who voice their thought to motivate women fight against gender discrimination are John Stuart Mill with The Subjection of Women 1859
and Harriet Taylor with Enfranchisement of Women 1851. Both of them were a couple bounded in unconventional relationship. They worked together by
producing several writings that mainly talked about marriage and divorce. Their belief inspired by Wollstonecraft by insisting that women not only should get
sexual equality but also gaining equality in politics, economy and education Tong, 2004: 15. Both of them agreed that women and men have the same intellectual
capability. Therefore, men and women have the same ability and rights to choose
what they want to do in their lives. They also highlight that men and women have the same opportunity and choice to be happy in their lives.
Furthermore, Tong 2004: 21 states that both John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill believe women need to voice their thought about their rights in order
to become men’s equals. The suffrage should reach all of life aspects including politics, economy and education. This idea, triggered some real actions to fight for
women’s vote in political agenda. One of the movements happened in 1848, where three hundred of men and women gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, and
created a Declaration of Sentiments and twelve resolutions. This declaration contains the need of reformation in some issues that already brought by Mill and
Taylor including divorce, marriage, property and children custody laws whereas the twelve resolutions concern on the rights of women to voice their ideas in
public. The focus of women’s struggle in early feminism is on basic equality that
women should acquire in their lives. Feminist thought has changed people mind especially women towards gender discrimination, as stated by Hooks 2000: x
feminism can touch and change every women’s lives in every part of the world because feminism is for everybody. Women start to fight against any form of
gender discrimination. In education, women struggle to get the same rights like men to pursue higher education. In economy, women demand to be able to work
and get the same opportunity to get economic sources. In social life, women attempt to get the same opportunity to do something that they want. In family,
women attempt to get fair treatment in marriage, to own property, and to divorce.
In politics, women want to have chances to express their opinion in front of people and to have rights to participate in any political agenda. Nowadays, women
still struggle in order to get fair treatment in all of life aspects and get acknowledgement that women are as important as men.
In order to understand about women’s struggles against gender discrimination, it is important to scrutinize about the form of struggles that
women can do. The first form of women’s struggles has purpose to give women the opportunity to get education. Education becomes a powerful tool to change
biased perception about women in patrarichal society. Through education, it can slowly change people’s perception that women are inferior creature. Hooks 2000:
19 states education in feminism is important to understand about sexist perspective toward women in patriarchy society. From this understanding, people
especially women will be able to fight agains sexist thought and change the condition which is not fair for women. Education helps women to shape their
thought and practice to struggle against gender discrimination. Women become more aware and getting their confidence to fight for the rights that they deserve
from the guidance of education. Furthermore, Hooks also argues 2000: 21 that formal education of womens studies helps to spread the idea of feminism. It also
provides opprtunity to change women condition through new developed ideas about feminism. Through education especially women’s studies, women will be
able to realize about gender discrimination and encourage them to change the unfair situations.
The second form of struggles is bonding in sisterhood. According to Gamble 2001: 298 sisterhood is a women’s movement that “places stress on
female solidarity and co- operation.” In other words, this is the term to describe
women’s relationship because they have the same concern, problems, experiences and goals. Hooks adds 2000: 3 women who have the same experiences and
problems will be able to share their understanding and also support to fight against any oppressions. Even though female bonding are not allowed in
patriarchy system, Hooks 2000: 14- 15 emphasizes that “sisterhood is still
powerful”. She also argues that “Feminist movement created the context for female bonding. We did not bond against men, we bonded to protect our interests
as women.” It means that if women together put their effort and power to fight against gender discrimination in sisterhood, it can be a powerful tool to diminish
all of the unfair treatments in patriarchal society. Hooks also emphasizes that if all women bond in sisterhood, they will be able to fight against patriarchy system
2000: 39-40. Thus, women can work together to end sexist bias perception, gender discrimination and other forms of oppressions by working together in
sisterhood. The third form of struggles is working. Society’s perception that see
women are incapable to work makes them become inferior. In patriarchy, men see women as dependent creature who are financially dependent to men. Therefore,
women are seen as incapable and powerless to gain financial resources. Working becomes a way that makes women able to achieve fair treatment because they are
seen as independent creature who can gain money and show their capability in
doing the works. Hooks 2000: 50 explains that working becomes the way women can gain self esteem and share their thought. Furthermore, they can get
better acceptance in the society. Women who work inside the house as housewives suffer to feel isolated, depressed and lonely while women who work
outside the house will be able to interact and share their burdens and problems with other people. Thus, working becomes the opportunity for women to show
their capability and strength to get their rights as the part of big society. Those forms of struggles are very important to do by women to speak out
about women’s problems in patriarchal society in order to get equality and freedom. Women should take real actions and challenge the oppression and
discrimination that trapped them to change not only people perception but also the condition. Therefore, women’s struggles can be categorized as the form of
empowerment to get equality and freedom.
4. Feminist Literary Criticism
