"Break Silence! They want to break our success. Time demands that we break this silence. If we are raising our voice, why should they get angry? We are fighting so that we have equality. We are fighting so that we have dignity. We are fighting so that we have justice. We are fighting for women's liberation. Break Silence! They are scared of our strength. They are scared of our struggles. They are scared of our unity. They are scared of our organization. They are scared of our emancipation. Hence, they are trying to break us by creating barriers of religions, caste, ethnicity, and tradition. Break Silence!" (Women's Rights Song, Desai & Patel, pg 86).
             Women have long been fighting for equal rights in every sphere of society. Those in the western world have been luckier. They are not faced with the daily conflict of discrimination like those who live in third-world countries. Westerners can go to school, vote, and work whereas there are still women in developing countries which cannot. The song above is an example of women in a developing country, fighting for their own rights. Its origin is from India.
             Indian women have had an extremely difficult time developing under the oppression of a male-dominated society, class and religion. Women's place in society has been extremely fixed in nature, and has kept women at a low rung on the status ladder. Traditional beliefs on whether or not women should be educated or whether or not the should work outside the home have also aided in their suppression. Although the Indian women's workforce is still relatively new, it has had some real successes (as well as failures) along the way, and some of the organizations involved are beginning to make a true difference in women's lifestyles.
             "It is not the characteristic of the true Hindu or Mohammedan woman to desire to be independent of a man" (Billington, pg 22). Women's status in India has generally been poor since co...