Role of Culture and Society in Women Empowerment, Self-Driving Cars and Pollution in Oceans, and Schizophrenia: TED Talks Analysis

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Question1
The difference between male and female is too a broader aspect can be identified as a
notion of biology. In practice, there is not as such distinctiveness among men and women
without having a physical diversity. However, even in the 21st century a number of cultures and
societies have possessed the taboo of isolating their women from the light of education1. As a
result of that it is necessary to understand the role of culture and society in empower women of
their respective societies.
Gender equality is a burning issue nowadays. Sociologist and social activities have raised
their voice for safeguarding the rights of the women in the society. Before going into the
discussion about cultural prejudices against women upliftment, it is imperative to get a glimpse
of the difference between sex and gender. According to West & Zimmerman, before the 1975
people had confusion about gender and sex2. From the sociological point of view, there is a sharp
distinction between the two. Sex is defined as the biological connotation associated with
anatomy, hormones and physiology whereas gender is ascribed as a psychological, cultural and
social means. In this regard, the Western societies have accepted the cultural perspective of
gender by treating men and women as naturally and unequivocally defined categories. However,
the role theory has a robust impact on the construction of gender categories. Beyond the
conventionalised gesture there is a clear understanding of the distinctiveness in gender but not
based on the stereotypes of the definition of sex.
1 Butler, J 1990, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge, London and New York.
2 West, C & Zimmerman, DH 1987, ‘Doing gender’, Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–51.

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Culture and society plays a pivotal part in constructing different perception about sex and
gender. In the speech of Shameem Akhtar at TEDWomen 2017, she portrayed a clear depiction
of the isolation and lack of privileges that the women in her region are suffering for a long time3.
She belonged to a Baloch conservative tribe in Sindh, Pakistan where women and girls do not
have the right to educate. In fact, the people think that girls are born to do household tasks and
never allowed to explore the outside world. This sheer perception among some tribes is still
existed in the 21st century. Her inner faith and courage made Shameem a flag bearer of educating
girls across the country. However, the politics of keeping women in dark about the rest of the
world was prevalent long back. In the book written by Millet the practice of male chauvinism in
society is quite clear. Sexually compliant females should be beaten and those women who violate
the laws of marital fidelity should be punished punitively4. In fact, Kimmel, Hearn & Connell
argues that the chivalry and masculinity are the significant facets that prohibit women to get
equal to their male counterparts5.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the education is the key factor that can help the
underprivileged women to get the light of the outside world and helps them to become leaders to
guide the society towards its future progress.
3TED conference. 2017. To Learn Is To Be Free. Video.
https://www.ted.com/talks/shameem_akhtar_to_learn_is_to_be_free.
4 Millet, K 1969, Sexual Politics, Doubleday and Co.
5 Kimmel, MA, Hearn, J & Connell, RW 2004, Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, SAGE, Thousand