Women Rights within The Antislavery Movement - Essay Example

? Women Rights: Women’s place in the society is an issue that began gaining ground amid silent hurdles put by men in the society from long time ago1. Around the whole world, women have been playing the role of the second fiddler in any decision making in the society and to the extreme cases they are expected by the society just to be seen but not heard. In the world political history, it has been revealed that a group of courageous women stood tall and began to push for a fair treatment of the fairer sex .Among such outstanding female figures is Sklar and Grimkes disobeyed gender norms and began to campaign against the positioning of women in the kitchen. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the social, economic and political realignments that took place in the American continent in the wake of Anti-slavery movement.2 When this slavery abolishment was gaining popularity and spreading across the North America, some women took this chance to advance the right of women in the early 1830’s .The ensuing battle between women and men over this gender agenda is the subject of focus in this paper and it will shed light on how this turned social tables across the globe that its effects is in play to date. When the anti-slavery set in across North America, it came as a godsend to the womenfolk because they grabbed this opportunity to highlight the plight of fellow women. Sklar and Grimkes played an exemplary role negotiating for the rights of women in the society within the confusion of slave trade abolition. It has been believed from time immemorial that the societal framework gives men the absolute authority over women who are expected to submit in return. Some of the gender roles that the society imposed on women in the North were oppressive and demeaning to women. Before this social revolutionary movement, womanhood was associated with reproductive issues, home care, kitchen and total submission to the male counterpart. On the side of the coin, men boasted of autonomous decision making which gave them upper hand in matters revolving around social, economical and political aspects of the society. It should however be noted that during this politically tensed period, religious revival missions was sweeping across the continent and the major participants were women. It was relatively easy to drive points home with the revival campaigns and this made it a bit easy for the message to penetrate the society. With this atmosphere, there was a reckoning force that could not be contained by the long standing demands of the civil society.3 This finally forced a changed in the notion that existed concerning the confined role of women in the society and the patriarchal power of the male over female. Although the wind of anti slavery was an overriding matter of debate, it did not come to the realization of men that a gender coup was also brewing in the guise of religious revival dominated by women. The female members of the society made great noise about the recognition of their rights and they mobilised women to take up political roles and fight for their rightful place in the society. The word that persuaded many women is the perceived gender equality as stipulated creator in the religious scripts and the bible. This came as a surprise to men as it dawned on them that they were losing the equality war to women but it seemed too late. Sklar and Grimkes were themselves daughters to slave owners but broke the silence and were at the forefront of championing for recognition of women amidst the anti-slavery movement. The oratory skills displayed by women during that time were to the shock of many people and went further to win the heart of women and socially moderate men. At this point the womanhood had already begun to change its face and gain new position in the society. Gender mainstreaming in the political and economic decisions began to gain recognition and started extending its roots gradually across the world. In this respect, men started to face cut throat competition from women in various issues and particularly fundamental rights and economic empowerment. The involvement of women in the anti-slavery movement formed the benchmark of human rights and particularly on the independence of women. In this regard it was the active participation of women in the slavery abolishment politics that opened their way into freedom. This was motivated by the impeccable and fluent communication skills that were expressed by women. This was an evident ability of the womenfolk to tackle matters of societal interest and the remedial measures on various socio-political and economic policies. With the spirit of solidarity among women it was easy to marshal themselves and trample the men dominated gender boundaries to make them heard. The sympathy that the slavery victims got from the international community was vital in shaping the destiny of women. In the first instance, women were the central point of focus by the sympathising anti-slavery evangelists and within this process; their other hidden problems were exposed by the courageous counterparts.4 With the power of the mass, the call for women’s social life upgrading was so daring and persistent beyond disposal. Women began to form small groups that was studying and discussing various issues touching on their rights.With such numerous small groups coming together to form an umbrella body, women movement took flight a spread like bush fire .People like Grimke made assertive statements and even wrote open letters to men claiming that the fight for women’s right in the society will never slowdown or stop but was instead headed for an explosive campaign. This sounded strange and unrealistic to men who did not take this kindly and was planning to device ways of sabotaging the whole affair. Some of the claims that men made was that if women were left to take a share in the so called rights, it would be tantamount overturning the moral status of the society. However, women defended their position at all cost through various methods and among them was the relentless widespread campaign under the shadow of Christian ministries revivals. The population of women at this time was relatively high compared to the men because of the depopulation that must have arisen from the slavery activities and other related factors. In this respect, numbers was a tool that was very useful to win in any public issue. This highly encouraged woman to press forward and make their grievances heard locally and internationally. The struggle for women rights that swept the entire North America in 1830’s bore some fruits in the long run however much the opposition they faced from men. After this decade long campaign, women were able to find space to compete against men in the political arena. The opinion of women gradually began to find listening ears even if it was marginal. This can be evidenced by the current situation where women have risen to become even head of states. The struggler was tricky but the society finally succumbed to it and some changes in the social structure have lately been seen as a result of the olden time freedom for women champions.5 The desire by the world to take up civilization was a remarkable booster to the womenfolk. This was in line with new economic policies that required that for the community to attain economic development, social welfare of the society must begin with reforms in the societal framework. In the ensuing arguments for and against such policies women gained a fairly level ground to push forth their human rights fight. These factors sum up to make the movement a success for women. It should however be noted that the fight of women for their position in the society has faced myriad challenges due to a comparatively low bargaining power of women in the social stratification that still rests in some peoples imaginations. Illiteracy and skewed economic empowerment still instigates inequality in the community and this is one of the tools at men’s disposal. This simple means that a lot still has to be done by women to get full equity or equality target they need. Bibliography Cumbler, John T. 2008. From abolition to rights for all: the making of a reform community in the nineteenth century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Wellman, Judith. 2004. The road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman's Rights Convention. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Read More