Women Rights - Research Paper Example

? Women Rights Throughout the history, women have had less career opportunities and legal rights than their male counterparts have. The profession of the stereotype woman was motherhood and woman, two of the major roles that women have been delegated with since time immemorial. Before 1877, it was unthinkable for a woman to leave her house and cater to issues concerning work or politics. Women’s roles were strictly those of taking care of their families at home. It has taken along battle characterized with hard work and determination for the women of today to enjoy the same rights as men. Since the beginning of the contemporary world, a woman has had a unique role in society: that of being a source of human life. Nonetheless, historically, women have been seen as inferior to men, intellectually, physically, sexually, and otherwise. In addition, women are always associated with evil and temptation, a notion possibly derived from the biblical scriptures of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. For instance, early Roman laws viewed women as children, while the Greek mythology suggests that it was a woman (Pandora) who brought unhappiness and plague to humankind by opening the forbidden box1. Before 1800s, women could not own property, vote, get equal education as men, or get involved in political issues. Some of the early female philosophers include Olympe de Gouges with the publication ‘declaration of women rights’ protesting against the failure of revolutionists in mentioning women in their declaration of human rights. There was Margret Fuller, a female reporter who wrote the article ‘Women in the Nineteenth century’ around 1845. The leader of women rights in America, Elizabeth Candy Stanton, was a major figure in the women rights movement. In addition, there was also Charlotte Perkins Gilham, Clara Barton among others2. The first known women rights movement began in 13, July 18483. A tea conversation between Elizabeth Candy Stanton and other four women friends turned to women issues, with emphasis on women’s roles in the American Revolution and their then lack of freedom4. This afternoon conversation was the first group of women fighting for their rights, and the first to organize specific, extensive programs that called for review of women rights in America. Two days after the formation of the small group, they had set a date for their first convention. The location of choice was the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, setting the date to 19 and 20, July 1848. The Seneca County Courier carried the announcement for the convention. This was the first ever-public meeting of its king in western civilization. According to these women, they were patriotic members of the society trying to share the ideas that would improve the new republic by heeding the promise of providing a more egalitarian life for all its citizens. As the women were preparing and waiting for the first convention, Elizabeth Candy Stanton was applying the Declaration of Independence framework to design the “Declaration of Sentiments” for the women rights movement. In complete resemblance to the important American symbol of liberty, Stanton was able to connect the Declaration of Independence to the fight for women’s rights. Stanton’s draft carefully listed a number of areas where women were most treated unjustly, eighteen in number. The words that Stanton used to express women grievances were strong words expressing large grievances but nonetheless filling the American atmosphere with the hope of a bright future for women. The two days convention began on July 19, 1848, and was successful. The discussions at the convention resulted in several major endorsements of the declarations of sentiments and twelve resolutions with a few amendments. Among the resolutions were the rights to equal laws, and equal job and education opportunities. The only two resolutions that failed to pass were the women’s right to vote in elections and their enfranchisement. Despite their grievances and achievements on the convention, the assembly did not sympathize with the women, at least until Frederick Douglass touched on the issue. Frederick Douglass was a rich orator fighting for the abolition of black slavery5. According to him, women, just like the black slaves, also had the right to liberty. In addition, he added that the right to choose leaders and make laws, a right through which all other rights would be secured. The success of the first convention transformed the event to a national meeting, with the first national convention-taking place in Worcester Mass with an attendance of more than 1,000. The national conventions become a yearly event, held from 1850 to 1860 except for 1857. After the Declaration of Sentiments went public, the backlash began. The media, especially newspapers, was full of scandals, especially with the audacity of the declaration. The declaration was viewed as a shameless act by women, particularly that of asking the right to vote. To ridicule the women right movement (which was barely a few days old), the newspaper often carried the entire publication of the Declaration of sentiments, and achieved their objective to some extent. The publicity of the document along its signatories caused an embarrassment to majority of the women signatories such that they later resolved to withdraw their signatures. In addition, several other women withdrew from the movement. This was a blow to the women right movement. The negative publicity, however, was to work in the favor of the women activists. The debate concerning women rights expanded everywhere, with a huge number engaging in the discussion. The movement expanded throughout the country and beyond. In the consequent national conventions, the issues concerning women that had been addressed at the Seneca Falls convention were re-addressed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other powerful women like Susan B. Antony, Sojourner Truth, and Lucy Stone were encompassing the country with the message of women liberation and freedom. Their efforts were still downplayed as the 14th and 15th Constitutional amendments took effect in 1868 and 1870 respectively, granting suffrage and citizenship to blacks only, not women. Disagreements concerning the next step of action led to a split in the movement in 1869. Susan B. Anthony (an anti slavery and temperance activist) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton grouped to form the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA), while Lucy Stone and other women activists formed the American Women Suffrage association (AWSA). NWSA was more concerned with the women suffrage amendment on the country’s Constitution, while AWSA was advocating for women suffrage on a states level. The battle for women suffrage was frustrating and took long. It was after 1869 that state began allowing women to vote, with Wyoming in 1869, Utah in 1970, and Colorado in 1893. Eventually, the battle for equal women rights was successful, beginning with the right to vote. It had taken 72 years with thousands of strategies, activists, administrators, and lobbyists6. The women behind the women rights movement were diligent women, working against all odds with outrageous strategies and tactics to outweigh their opposition and take advantage of the limited resources. References Dannett, Sylvia. Noble women of the North. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1959. Eisenberg, bonnie & Ruthsdotter, Mary. History of the Movement. Web 6, December, 2011. (From http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html ) Oates, Stephen. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War, (New York: The free Press, 1994.) Women’s Intenational Center. Women’s rights. Web 6, December, 2011. (From http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm ) Young, Agatha & Young, Agnes. The Women and the Crisis: Women of the North in the Civil War. New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1959. Read More