The success of the women’s rights movement is evident when we see females like Senator Hillary Clinton and many others running for and holding political offices. It is also evident in institutions of higher learning, religious institutions and even in the board room. Nonetheless, because young women in America have always enjoyed these liberties, are these freedoms as valued as they were by the foremothers of the movement?
Recently many news stories have spoken of the injustices concerning women in the Middle East. One such story was told on court television. It was about a woman from Iran who risked all that she had to escape that country. She’d desired that her daughters experience the freedoms of a more liberated/equal society. Her hopes for her daughters included higher education, equal employment opportunities, freedom to marry/not marry, freedom to reproduce/not reproduce and protection from sexual abuse/violence. Because the daughters came to America at very young ages, they never really witnessed or experienced the oppression their mother fought so hard to escape. Consequently, to the mother’s dismay, the daughters did not value freedom in the same way that the mother had.
The Women’s Rights Movement - Historians credit Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the birth of the women’s rights movement. Although the heart of the struggle centered around achieving the right to vote, these women and many other women's rights activists fought for the complete equality of/justice for women in America. Some of the battles fought and accomplishments won by this movement include:
- The right to vote
- Gender equality/equal employment opportunity
- Protection of women’s rights in divorce
- Laws/tough penalties for rape and sexual violence against women
- The promotion of higher education for women
- Passing of sexual harassment laws
- Implementation of laws/services to stop/protect against domestic violence
- Reduction of poverty and economic growth for women
Despite all of these great accomplishments, are the freedoms of women subtlety being infiltrated? Ponder these troubling facts/statistics:
- Violence Against Women - According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, "more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day."
- Lyrics About Women - A popular song by the hip hop rap artist Ludacris tells women to "Shake, shake, shake your money maker like you were shakin it for some paper." Unfortunately these degrading words are not unique in today’s music. Many artists have become popular with songs that disrespect and malign women. Unfortunately, you see young women dancing in music videos for these artists, and at clubs or riding down the street singing along to these lyrics as if they were oblivious to the meaning of the words.
- Women and Poverty/Economic Growth - According to a report from the Center for the Education of Women/University of Michigan, "women comprise 56% of Americans over 18 who live in poverty". Possibly this is due to an increased number of single mother households, and/or the fact that men still tend to make more on the job than their female counterparts.
There have been many victories and successes made on behalf of women's rights, but there is still quite a ways to go. Women cannot forget the battles fought and sacrifices made to see to it that this, and other generations, experience freedoms the founders of the women's rights movement will never see.
Dee Dee Smith - Dee Dee is a web content writer with over a decade of experience. She has held contracts with golf, sports and business publications.
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