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Women's fight for equality
Women's fight for equality
Women's fight for equality
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Women in the United Kingdom have fought very long to get their rights respected and accepted in general throughout history. The women of today that are known as leaders and preachers of human rights of today, took a very long path of walking towards tolerance, freedom, fair and equal treatment. Discrimination was a major issue back in the sixteenth century, and there was a very big difference put between the men and the woman. Females had absolutely no right of owning anything. They just lived to satisfy their husbands and take care of the family household. Many pressure groups have been created to support the women’s movement and push their rights forward. The main concern they had was the male population accepting that females also have the right to vote. Women ever since have made their voice heard a lot of times, creating various programs and funding different commissions to make sure their word gets through. The most important way of getting the word through is with the means of proper communication. British women have created many forums and advising committees, which have successfully grown from being just local pressure groups, into groups of female fighters for women’s rights and childcare programs. Women are now supported at their businesses, taken seriously and considered as eligible candidates for the governmental positions. This paper will give a walkthrough of the history of women’s rights, how it all started out. First a historical introduction will be given, on how a women was perceived in the sixteenth century, what her rights and responsibilities were and what the society expected from her. A small historical overview will be given on how the government was pressured into accepting females to be part of the gover...
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Nowadays, women have equal rights as men. They have legal protection and get to own property, govern their own life and the bare the decision of childbirth. The constitution of Great Britain fully protects the rights and freedom of a woman, to be treated equally and have all the rights and responsibilities like men. Britain is not only one of the strongest European countries in terms of women’s right protection, but also takes on the responsibility of doing so for other countries as well. As of 2013, there have been many government-funded programs, including a partnership with the World Bank. Currently a lot of attention is paid to the issue of violence. The British governmental takes care of the programs to ensure that the remote areas which are difficult to access also get a reach and to some extend at least reach the international standards.
The opposition to women's suffrage in the early 20th century stems from a deep rooted social phenomenon in england that took hold in the 19th century. The victorian era gave rise to the system of gender roles and relations that sought to separate the sexes on all fronts of society. This sex class system, also known as the separate sphere ideology, developed from the changing economic scheme, the opinions of great victorian philosophers, and a revival of religious integrity. The separate sphere ideology very popular amongst english society and developed a level of indisputable credibility when publically defended by an emergence of pseudo science discoveries on a woman's capacities. The separate sphere mentality would define the clear roles, duties and responsibilities of men and women in a rigid unforgiving manner. It would shape the english morality, freezing women out of public life and into the cult of domesticity. This perceived gender role and relation system would become the single greatest platform for campaigning anti-suffragists, who lead poplar ‘antis’ movements . The key ‘antis’ arguments discussed developed from a separate sphere ideology outlook, and are as following; biological differences could not allow equal voting rights, changing the gender system would negatively alter woman's life, and women can not physically, socially or mentality navigate the world of politics.
Throughout the classical and postclassical eras, it is evident that women have always held a certain label whether it be positive or negative. This was evident throughout various regions such as the Middle East, Africa, Americas, and Europe. The time period from 1750-1914 was also an era of industrialization, in places especially like Europe. New machinery and a grand-scale labor force was required to allow the country to prosper as much as possible. From 1750 to 1914, the status of women in Western Euope changed through an increase in employment opportunities and through the earning of women’s rights, however, female labor in designated households was invariably evident.
...urred in the past. They provide relevant information at the same time that explain the points of view of feminist groups and how it have changed the history. In addition, the authors agree that the suffragette movements developed a radical way of feminism so women had to go through a series of acts of humiliation and self-sacrifice to achieve their purposes. On the other hand, they disagree with the creation of some women groups and the techniques that they used and in the way that they fought to have an equal pay. However, the authors use the same methods to show the problems in Britain during that time, in all the articles they talk about biographies and experiences of women to describe the historical and political identity in British feminism after the First World War. This identity could be improved thanks to the attempts of women to be considered like citizens.
As Clive Emsly explained in The Old Bailey Proceedings, in the eighteenth century, men were viewed as the stronger sex. They were expected to be tougher, both physically and emotionally, to have determination and will. Men were to be logical thinkers and erudite, they had to dominate their households and provide for their families. By the nineteenth century, historians argue that even though women began to experience more freedom in the workforce, they were still confined socially. Men were still expected to lead their households and be “breadwinners.” For many years, men dominated almost every aspect of society. However, in the past few decades, a movement known as feminism emerged. The feminist movement fought for women’s rights to an education and equality. Women longed for an opportunity to gain knowledge and freedom to seek adventure. In recent years, more so than ever, the feminist movement has made great advances. It has instigated a shift in gender roles and constructs forever altering how society views women and men.
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
Women throughout the suffrage act were faced with many challenges that eventually led into the leading roles of women in the world today. Suffrage leaders adopted new arguments to gain new support. Rather than insisting on the justice of women’s suffrage, or emphasizing equal rights, they spoke of the special moral and material instincts women could bring to the table. Because of these women taking leaps and boundaries, they are now a large part of America’s government, and how our country operates.
At this time, women were fighting for their right and ability to vote. Men were able to vote because of their violent nature, while women were unable to vote because “they were constitutional and law-abiding” (Pankhurst 285). As “women had lost heart”, there was little being done about their rights, resulting in two women, both members of Pankhurst’s organization, speaking out against the Liberal leader asking when women were going to be able to vote (Pankhurst 285). Without sitting down until they were answered, the women were jailed, and from then on, the women’s movement for a change in voting rights has been militant and constitutional. The women were “fighting to get the power to alter bad laws”, but due to the little rights that they had, not much was done to accommodate their need.
“Your majesty, I have come before you today to address the issue concerning the rights of women in government, stressing the lack of representation, the importance that we have representation and also our rights to help make decisions, concerning government and law, which affect not only the men who make the laws but also the women who can not. Sure we have some say in our homes, can inherit and own property, own small businesses and even are educated like men, but what of our rights to have a voice in government? Where is our say in legal and government matters of and for the kingdom? Are women not part of the empire? Do we not also contribute to the empire? The answer is yes, we do, but do we have representation within the government? The answer is no. Women live by the laws, rules and codes that were created, established and written into law by none other than the men, leaving women out of the picture not having a say in the laws which they are made to live by.
Its evolution is complex and lasted for over 70 years, however some events that were a turning point are necessarily to be explained in order to understand de latter analysis. It was not until 1835 when the Municipal Corporation Act used the term male, not person, 30 years later, The Kensington Ladies’ Discussion Society was founded, along with the Women’s Suffrage Committee, this was the first organized group to advocate for the women’s right to vote. The years that followed were filled with the founding of several suffragist organizations, such as Emmeline Pankhurst’s Women’s Social and Political Union, massive public demonstrations and gradually more violent and non-pacific ways of activism as hunger strikes, window-smashing or chaining to railings. Those actions were along the same lines as Pankhurst’s famous quote “deeds, not words”. On February 1918, The Representation of the People Bill allowed women over the age of 30 (with some restrictions) to vote.
In Sarah Stickney Ellis’s 1839 book, The Woman of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits, she explains that the ways women act can be directly tied to the unwritten rules that have been set by society: “The long-established customs of their country have placed in their hands the high and holy duty of cherishing and protecting the minor morals of life, from whence springs all that is elevated in purpose, and glorious in action” (Ellis 1611). The author conveys that society controls and clearly defines what type of attitude and activities are to be expected of a proper woman. Even though women may only be used for their so-called ‘womanly duties,’ they can still have ambition and desires. The only problem is that their society will not let them pursue any of these goals.
Two hundred years ago, during the reign of Queen Victoria in England, the social barriers of the Victorian class system firmly defined the roles of women. The families of Victorian England were divided into four distinct classes: the Nobility or Gentry Class, the Middle Class, the Upper Working Class, and lastly, the Lower Working class . The women of these classes each had their own traditional responsibilities. The specifics of each woman’s role were varied by the status of her family. Women were expected to adhere to the appropriate conventions according to their place in the social order . For women in Victorian England their lives were regulated by these rules and regulations, which stressed obedience, loyalty, and respect.
With the new laws, women were granted the right to take care of young daughters, but not sons (Buckley 101). This act clearly indicated the moral influence that a woman had at home, while a man’s dominance was in the field of politics and in trading areas. There was a clear differentiation between gender-based ideologies. Isecke notes that Women largely applied the concept of moral motherhood so as to be granted social justice over the years that followed. This marked a new milestone in the way women were viewed in the society. More attention was paid to them and their influence towards the society was largely appreciated.
The Victorian era, spurred a momentary sequence of both women and men in search of a prosperous relationship regulated by the demanding etiquettes of the Victorian Society. If these desired qualities were not in possession, a man or woman could be labeled as ‘unsuitable’ in the positions of a husband or a wife. Women suffered mostly throughout the Victorian Era as rights were ceased and the rules and guidelines of society were placed. The Victorian Era caused the rights of women to escalate when the Vision of the “Ideal Woman” was introduced amongst society; producing segregation between men and women to last for years to come.
Throughout the early 1800s, British women most often were relegated to a subordinate role in society by their institutionalized obligations, laws, and the more powerfully entrenched males. In that time, a young woman’s role was close to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the men in their lives, whether it was a father, brother or the eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one could either be in it for the right reasons, such as love, or for the wrong reasons, such as advancing social status. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women and reflected the societal belief that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children.
In the 19th century, there was an up rise in feminism for their social role in life. Women were expected to be an average house wife, to take orders from their husbands without questioning them. The woman did not have privileges such as right to vote, to be educated, be free spirited and hold jobs. They lived in patriarchal society where man made all the decision in the household and his wife followed them. The inequality between the genders created frustration amongst females, of which after a prolonged mental impact they revolted. It can be said that the ambition for women to fight for their rights sparked the feminist movement. This movement was based on set of viewpoints, political ideologies, cultural and moral beliefs where women felt compelled to obtain their given rights. The feminist movement was a multi-facet of waves, each of which left an impression to the issues in relation to social status, legal inequalities, and liberation.