Women's Role In Motherhood

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Introduction Throughout the history, the role of women has been built around motherhood. According to Shurko (2012), reproductive body of women is seen in terms of “compulsory motherhood” (p. 78), which determines the only possible way of life of women and her body. It means that women should strive to fulfill their reproductive function that includes not only giving the birth for a child but also having responsibility in upbringing him/her and taking care of a family. Moreover, the desire for having a baby has been traditionally seen natural, undisputed and dominant in the construction of feminine identity. In Kyrgyzstan, as well as in most other countries, it is norm to marry and have children. Traditionally, the main role of women is being…show more content…
Historically the ideal image of women was associated with mythological goodness “Umai Ene”. In Kyrgyz culture “Umai Ene’ is an ancient religious cult. It was represented in the form of a beautiful woman, coming down from heaven to give the child a flesh and blood; it was seen as a female deity, the patron saint of the home, the keeper of the offspring. (Arykova, 16), this mythodological goodness represents the main destiny of women as a mother. The role of mother historically been understood as the essence of feminine identity, which was presented not an expected choice, but rather as a duty and obligation. Nevertheless, recent years have seen growing number of women who decided to be childfree (Moore, 2014). The Statistics of Canada conducted in 2005, revealed that fertility rate that are below the rate of replacement can be seen…show more content…
However, the choice to be childfree is also influenced by life circumstances of women. For example, being witness to a victim of violence in at family (Doyle, 2013), being the only child or being the oldest girl in a big family, as well as health problems may influence women’s decision not to have children (Gillespie, 1999). Yet this paper seeks to go beyond social change explanations and life circumstances that lead them to choose childfree lifestyle, but rather to find out how childfree women themselves explain the significance of remaining childfree and the strategies used in
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