"Women Around the World"- CSU Chico

    On Friday of last week, there was a open floor discussion with five women from around the world, who have come to live and take classes at California State University, Chico.  The majority of them were here for graduate school.  Varita was from India, a computer science major going for her M.A.; Motoko was from Japan, 30 years old and in her fourth year studying speech.  Shuting, representing China, has been here for two years in the applied computer graphics department; Susan came from Costa Rica, in her first year as a graduate student, studying international language teaching, and Khriland, from Saudi Arabia, is a third year transfer.  It was mainly a question and answer session where the audience, as well as the other women on the panel, was informed about different aspects of cultural life in the different countries.  Most of the questions were in regards to schooling and the social differences between there lives and women of the United States.
   

    The first question, asked by the Event Coordinator, whose name I forgot to write down, was about co-ed schools and single-sex institutions..  I found the answers to this question very interesting because I have always been intrigued by other continent and nation’s cultures and social constructions.  All women said there were co-ed schools open, but it seemed that at one point in every country, at least in the experience of the speakers, that men and women or boys and girls were in separate classes.  Going through the public school system in the US, I could not really imagine not having the input of my female peers.  But obviously there are different social perspectives that do not exist here that have to be recognized. 
   

    Another question was what women did after college?  Become house wives and not work again, or stay an independent, professional. In Costa Rica, Susane said that women who did not go to college, would learn how to cook and clean, and what chores she would be doing as a wife and mother.  Regardless of education, women there are expected to marry by 30 years old, if they have not, people remind them that they should, and gossip about it. In India, Varita said that about 95% of the women are house wives. To me that is an incredible statistic, only 5% of the female population are employed full time.  But she also said that women over the years have found it easier to get approval from their parents and relatives to get an education.  The opportunity is there, but with a very high percentage of arranged marriages, social advancement and creating family ties, the family element is very important.
   

    I found the entire session very interesting as well as important to gain insight on what the perspectives are from far away places.  Since I am a history major, I have studied a little women’s history around the world and can understand where the social perspectives have developed from.  It was good to hear that education is becoming more and more available to women and that more women are becoming educated gaining entrance to the professional job markets.  Not only in their native countries, but internationally as well.