Women Rights in Canada

“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.

“What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine” (Women’s Rights). This quote may sound ridiculous. However, this quote gave a clear reflection of women’s lives before the 1900’s; women were not considered “people”. Once a woman got married, she lost all their rights! This continued until Ontario passed The Married Women’s Property Act in 1884. The movements for the right of married women grew in momentum as other provinces began passing the Act too. Before the Act was passed when women married, all of her possessions turned over to the husband. The husband could spend all of his wife’s money and leave her, although immoral, he would not be found guilty. Wealthy families tried to put a stop to the chance of their daughter’s wealth being taken advantage of by creating prenuptial contracts. These contracts were signed before the couple got married; it outlined...

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...nadian women could no longer be denied the access to education, equal pay, employment, and their rights. At last, after a century, Canadian women had gained the rights they fought so hard to possess.

Currently, Canadian women are helping women in third world countries gain the same rights Canadian women have received. Some well known foundations are ‘Because I Am A Girl’, donations are sent to girls in the third world country so that they can obtain food, shelter, and an education, allowing them make a change in their society. Canadian women would not have been able to create projects to help women in other nations gain their rights if not for The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act. These key milestones in Canadian history have allowed Canadian women to continue fighting for women rights on a global stage.