Life and challenges of today's woman: from the post-World War II period to the present day
In barely 70 years, the position of women has changed considerably, the woman passing from "woman of" to equal to a man. Thus the women of Martinique, under the impetus of the various laws passed at the National Assembly in Paris, in favor of the emancipation of women were going to pass from simple wives to women free of their choice of life (professional, number of children, rights over children, divorce, choice of spouse, etc ...)
Pillar of her family and emancipated
Women's Emancipation Laws
The post-WWII era marked a turning point in the history of French women. Many international and national feminist movements are calling for more freedoms for women and equal status between men and women. They were going to be heard with several laws passed in this direction.
Summary of emancipation laws voted in the post-war period:
- End of civil incapacity in 1938 (the Napoleon code imposed on women the right of obedience to their husbands, women can now have an identity card and a passport),
- Authorization to carry on a business without the authorization of her husband in 1942,
- Right to vote in 1944,
- Contraception was authorized in 1967,
- Parental authority was shared between father and mother in 1970,
- Equal pay for men and women in 1972,
- Use of Voluntary Pregnancy Interruption in 1975,
- Ban on the dismissal of pregnant women in 1980,
- Authorization for the woman to give her last name to her child in addition to the name of the father in 1985,
- Law for same-sex marriage in 2013.
Be careful, however, these laws, although passed, did not have an immediate effect on Martinique. Martinique remains a very Christian land and is attached to the precepts of the Catholic, Evangelical, or Adventist churches. Moreover, even today, a significant fringe of the population remains firmly opposed to abortion or homosexual marriage.
Poto Mitan of the family
A word to know when you live in Martinique or study the Martinican woman is undoubtedly the word "poto mitan". The poto mitan designates the role of the pillar in the family. From the end of slavery, women were considered the ones who had the most important role within their families. Indeed, slavery had left its mark on the role of each individual in the family.
Thus, that of the man was to work to provide for the "daily bread" (the biblical notion of the Our Father frequently used) of his family while the woman was in charge of the preparation of the menus, the maintenance of the house, the education of children, emotional contribution to her children and her husband. Be careful, however, the notion of poto mitan should not be confused with that of a housewife. A working woman can also be the poto mitan of her family.
The notion of poto mitan refers only to her role at home, whether she is a housewife or an employee. Even today in Martinique, many women remain confined to the role of housewife while the role of the man is to be the main source of household income. The “housewife” is not always a choice made by this one, because 24.71% of the women of the population are unemployed and looking for a job full-time or part-time. In addition, in Martinique, in 2014, one in two Martinican families was a single-parent family with at least one child under 25 in the household. Most often, it is the mother who is the head of the family.
Thus, in single-parent families, the woman has no other choice but to combine her role of mother and employee. The large number of single-parent families is largely due to divorces, separations, or the death of one of the two spouses. The absent parent, generally the father, if he is still alive, nevertheless participates in the education of his children either financially (payment of alimony), or even emotionally (time granted to his child). Finally, another West Indian exception (compared to the Metropolis), the family structure is not limited to parents alone. Uncles, aunts, and grandparents participate in the education of the children and sometimes take care of them to allow their mothers to have a professional occupation.