Unfinished Struggle: The Continuing Fight for Gender Equality

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Is there still inequality between men and women? Some people—mostly men—would say that there is not. It has been debated whether feminism, or today 's women’s right movement, is needed in today’s society. They think that just because women can vote, there is no need to continue fighting for equality. Great strides have been made toward gender equality, but total equality has not yet been achieved. There are still many changes that need to be made to our society before equality between all genders can be a reality.
Society has always given more power to men than to women. Before the 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, only men had the right to vote. Before this, women were seen as the property of either her husband or her father and not her own person. They had to follow laws they couldn’t vote for, pay taxes on property they had no rights to, and could not get a college education. They were very limited on occupations, and what jobs they could work paid very little. Because of their limited opportunities and the gender roles of that time, many ended up as housewives. They were expected to do all the housework, cooking, and care for the children. If she did something that displeased her husband, he could beat or imprison her without any legal consequences (the National Women’s History Project, 1998).
These women had to fight just to have their basic human rights. Their hard work has made it so that women can now own land, work, get an education, and, most importantly, not be seen as a man’s property. Without them women would still be confined to their houses and only allowed to be housewives or school teachers. Their efforts have made it so women can be her own person and have the ability to take care of herself....

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... not take them seriously and see them as tomboys. Both transmen and transwomen have to endure all the problems women have to face do to gender inequality as well as their own from being transgender. They cannot even use the bathroom without the fear that someone could throw them out of attack them. People who are non-binary, or people who are neither male nor female, also suffer from all these problems and have their identities.
As you can see, there still is a great need for feminism today. Society has come very far in the direction of gender equality, but we have not made it yet. If we keep fighting for gender equality one day we will have it, and, as a result, everyone would have better lives. All people deserve to be treated fairly and have equal opportunities no matter what their gender, race, or sexual orientation may be. It is their rights as human beings.

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