Frailty, thy name is woman

1. Introduction
2. Frailty and strength in the contemporary world
3. Perception of women as frail
a. Physiological differences
b. Patriarchal Society
4. Woman and her challenges in today’s society
a. Social constraints
b. Cultural boundaries
c. Political alienation
d. Economic injustice
5. Strength, thy name is woman
a. Benazir Bhutto’s noteworthy contributions for democracy
b. Malala Yousufzai and her struggle against extremism
c. Angela Merkel’s exemplary leadership of Germany
d. Jacinda Ardern and her fight against coronavirus
e. Mother Teresa’s beneficence for the poor and sick
6. Women are frail, a misogynist perception
7. Conclusion

Shakespeare, in his play Hamlet, describes women as weak in character. His premise is that
Hamlet’s mother is marrying his uncle shortly after his father’s death. Shakespeare not only
generalizes his idea on all women, committing the fallacy of composition, he also oversimplifies a
complex issue. Frailty and strength should be seen with the lens of society’s socio-political, economic
and cultural relations. Most of human’s history, men have assumed control over resources and
authority roles. Even the greatest thinker Aristotle believed that women are inferior to men in his
book Politics. Though women have struggled to present themselves as an equal being in the
patriarchal design of the world, 21 st century women have shattered the misogynist ideas constructed
by men. From being a sign of democracy like Benazir Bhutto to being the light of peace like Malala,
the women around the world have shattered the idea of women frailty.

In the 21st century, the concept of frailty and strength as means of assuming power has changed
from old times. In the hunter-gatherer societies, physical strength was considered supreme. As the
time reached the era of agricultural revolution, the intellect and physical strength were both a
superior sign of power as the combination of the two was needed to harvest and plan efficiently.
Today, we live in a technological and digital era where the pendulum of strength as a manifestation
of authority has inclined towards intelligence. Since the world