Power Relations In Education

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Operational Definitions and a Review of Literature Education is considered to be imperative for development. In recent times, girls’ education has been brought into focus. ‘Education of girls’ has been acknowledged as a strong predictor of growth in poorer countries (Sutton, 1998). Quality education provides women with a better stance in society through involving them in income generating activities. It also promotes smaller, healthier and better educated families led by properly educated women who can deal with the upcoming challenges of the new century (Ityavyar, 2005). Tertiary level education engages a very small portion of the total population in developing countries, despite university education manages to guide highly skilled …show more content…

Various cultural practices determine the patterns of power relations and create a hierarchal relationship among the actors within the society. Giddens (2006) defines this hierarchal power relation within the gender structure of the society as the ‘patterns of power relations’ between male and female that are widespread throughout society. Connell (2005) affirms that the main axis of power is the structure that maintains an overall subordination of women and dominance of men-‘Patriarchy’. Patriarchy is being understood as the systematic domination of women and other men by men. Connell locates patriarchy as the foundation of power. Power is functioned through social relations such as authority, violence and ideology in institutions, the state, the military and domestic life (Giddens, 2006). So, patriarchal structure provides the basis of dominant and dominated power relations between men and women in a …show more content…

Traditionally, parents and guardians consider that females should be “married off” at the first sign of puberty. A research also found the median age of first marriage by their socio-cultural background for women aged 20-24 years (Shaikh, 1997). In standard norm, marriage is the central pillar in the social construction of sexuality. Accordingly, it is a fundamental event in a person’s life, upon which terrific social pressures and expectations are attached. Parents consider the arrangement of their daughter’s marriage as their divine and moral duty (Muna, 2005). The requirement is rooted in religion, both in Islam and Hinduism. Marriage is reported to be more compulsory for women than their counterpart considering the issues of economic and physical security in Bangladeshi society. Henceforth, women who are unwilling to get married for whatever reason are regarded as a potential threat to social equilibrium. Marriage puts an end to the puberty for girls providing them with a new identity as women let the age may not be appropriate while standardized

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