Celebrating Women's History

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead made this statement after a lifetime of observing diverse cultures throughout the world. It is difficult to imagine a time when half of the population of the United States did not have religious freedom, a voice in the government which they supported with their taxes, and were considered property with no rights to own land or make decisions that directly affected their lives. This may sound outlandish now, but before the 1900s women were not given the rights or privileges of citizenship in the United States. I had never given much thought to the rights and privileges I have as a women today until I realized that my grandmother was born into a country where she did not have the right to vote, to obtain a higher education and once married, was considered property of her husband. When my grandmother wanted to go to barber school, she was turned down because women were not admitted.

Many women today take the rights they have for granted. However, the staggering changes for women that have transpired over the last seven generations in family life, religion, government, employment, and education did not just happen. Women are responsible for deliberately creating these changes. Although changes of this magnitude might in other circumstances be brought about by war, women brought these changes about in a very democratic manner. They held meetings and petition drives, lobbied, gave public presentations, and presented nonviolent resistance. Women as a collective group have worked very deliberately to create a better world for everyone.

The organized women's rights movement began on July 13, 1848 at a simple tea party hosted by Cady Stanton. The women's discussion lead to the question of why 70 years after the American Revolution, a war in which women had taken tremendous risks along with the men, nothing had been done to provide a more active role for women in society. The women decided to hold a convention to discuss the rights of women. Within two days of their tea, they had a date, a location, and they had placed a small advertisement in the Seneca County Courier. On July 19 and 20, 1848, the first meeting of its kind ever held in the world convened to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women.

It took 72 years from the time of the first organized women's convention for women to win the vote. It took thousands of political strategists, capable organizers, administrators, activists, and lobbyists. The women of the early movement faced great odds, but they created ingenious strategies and outrageous tactics and made the most of limited resources. The story of the movement is a dramatic tale filled with remarkable women facing down incredible odds to win the most basic of American civil rights, the vote.

The vote did not bring about instant change. What happened between now and then is remarkable. Here are just a few examples:
* In 1919 the National American Women Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters.
* In 1923, Alice Paul, the leader of the National Women's Party, drafted an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) for the United States Constitution.
* In 1936 a Supreme Court decision declassified birth control information as obscene. However, it was not until 1965 that married couples in all states could legally obtain contraceptives.
* In 1963 Betty Friedan published a landmark book, The Feminine Mystique.
* In 1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was passed, prohibiting employment discrimination based on sex as well as race, religion, and national origin. The category "sex" was included as a last ditch effort to kill the bill. Fortunately it did not work out that way and the bill passed.
* In 1972 Title IX in the education codes gave equal access to higher education and to professional schools.

Change in society begins with one person and spreads from there. In society what changes are the people, and the people are the ones who first give birth to the change and support it in its growth and development. The women's movement sprang out of the need to more fully be realized as a person. Women wanted to participate and be more fully appreciated for their contributions. And has anything changed today? As women we are still fighting for the right to fully participate in the economy of our country, the raising of our families and the right to make choices that directly effect us.

It may be tempting to take for granted the rights we have as women today. However, those rights did not come without a price. Many women worked and suffered so that we may more fully participate in the running of our country and our lives. It is true that women of today face challenges only dreamed of by the crusaders of the earlier movement. Today we struggle with how to juggle our hard-ea
ed rights with the need to be balanced. Having it all has ended up meaning stress and pressure not anticipated by earlier activists. As modern women, we are challenged to find our place in the struggle for equality. There is no doubt in my mind that as time goes on, women of today will continue to create changes in our society that will be felt for generations to come. nnn