Women's lives were impacted by wars

     In the past, women were always discriminated by men, which made them lack of protection and equal rights. During the world wars, many women served in the army without any pay. At first, many people in America didn’t want to women work in the armies; some military officers thought it seems that women including in the army just waste of time. Two major group, Catholic Church and army itself, opposite idea that women join into the army strongly; but there were also some people support that idea (Permeswarn 95-6).

     I have seen a Chinese movie called the Flowers of War which shows the period during the “Rape of Nanking”, known as “Second Sino-Japanese War” as well. This movie talks about people find a church which makes sanctuary for them to go through the violent invasion. There are fourteen charming prostitutes pretend to be a group of incorrect convent schoolgirls to meet with Japanese soldiers at the Japanese Army’s victory celebration, which is a self-sacrificing decision. At first, these prostitutes are despised by those pure convent girls. Thus, when these schoolgirls are going to sacrifice, the prostitutes could have left and ignored these girls. But they decided to pretend the convents girls, cutting their hair and taking off makeup while those girls are sent to a secure place by truck. I was shocked by their courage since I thought the past Chinese women should be elegant and delicate. So I wondered what situation could make a woman strong than ever. In my opinion, I agreed and support the idea that women join into the army so that they were changed.

     Before women involved into the wars, the lives of women were as normal as water. I remember my grandmother told me the life she was in the wartime that she woke up early every day morning, and then she prepared the breakfast to her kids and parents. Since my grandfather was gone to war, there was just my grandmother to maintain the family. It was harsh to a weak woman. In order to have money to survive, my grandmother worked in a cloth factory; every day after she finished the breakfast and then she went to work. Since the men all went for the war, there were only women in the factory which my grandmother worked; they went to work 8:30 in the morning and went back to home after 8:00 at night, but they worked with low pay, even sometime the factory didn’t pay for them. There were no laws to protect their rights, so even they worked hard in the factory, if the owner of factory didn’t want to pay to them, they could do nothing. After my grandmother finished her work in the factory, she still needed to go back to home to do all the housework and take care of her kids and parents. That was the daily life she had. I think that women in a low social status not just happened in China, it also happened in Europe or United State; this kind of corrupt thought was around the whole world. It seems like a theorem that women have lower status than men and they needed to serve men.
     After the end of World War II, it made important change of the United State; one of the huge changes was woman. Since large of number women tended to join the military that the largest change for the society. If women who join into the military were treated well; they had their special uniforms, their own offices, and equal pay. There was another changes show up on the women that they took place of their husbands on the front home. There were about 6.3 million married or single working women entered the work force during the war, which was the popular symbol that women abandoned their “traditional work” and got into the real industries (“Social changes during the war”).According the data online, women’s employment rates increased during WWI, from 23.6% of the working age population in 1914 to between 37.7% and 46.7% in 1918, it is difficult to imagine that many women servicers moved into the jobs created in the industries (“World War I: 1914-1918”).  

     On the BBC, there are four historians published their opinion about the most change life for women because of WWI. Two of them think the rights of votes for women is the most change, one of them thinks the health area is the biggest improvement and the last one thinks develop new skill and gain freedom is the most change for women (“How did WWI most change life for women?”). So, how do you do? Do you agreed which one, or you have your own opinion on it? I agree with the right of vote and gain more freedom. In my own opinion, I think the most change of women after war means what the women actually get from the war is extremely different from before. Since there was no many rights for women before the wars, even the most basic rights; they were despised by men before. After the end of the wars, after the women made the huge contribution for the country; they gained their basic rights and freedom, especially the right of vote they didn’t have before and they did no need to restrain by other people.
     In a conclusion, women get what they want after the war, such as rights, respect, etc. Indeed, they gain these thing by themselves; as May Craig said in his speech at the Women’s National Press Club in 1944: “The war has given women a chance to show what they can do in the new world, and they have done well”, they did well and helped a lot in the army. They created their new world (Women Come to the Front").

                                                                      Work citied
Sources:
 Permeswaran, Yashila. "The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps: A Compromise to Overcome the Conflict of Women Serving in the Army." 42.1 (2008): 95. History Reference Center. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
"Social Changes during the War." Digital History, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
"World War I: 1914-1918." N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
"How Did WW1 Most Change Life for Women?" BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
"Women Come to the Front." War, Women, and Opportunity. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.