Women's Rights 101

Some remarkable facts about women’s rights include the fact that a married woman (in Britain) became the property of her husband and she could not own property in her own right (unless her father had settled property on her in the marriage contract).  In Canada Emily Murphy successfully lobbied for the Dower Act (1912) in Alberta allowing married women to retain property rights.  As part of the Famous Five she worked to have women recognized as “persons” under the law, making women eligible to sit in the Senate.

An interesting timeline on women’s rights can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_legal_rights_(other_than_voting)

The Law of Moses allowed women almost the same monetary rights as a man; in Rome women were treated as property or as minors; in India there is some confusion but women did have some property rights; in Sweden in 1720 women could work within a guild; again in Sweden women were granted property rights and working rights in the early 1700’s; 1859 Denmark allows women to become teachers; Denmark opens up colleges to women in 1863 and in 1875 opens up universities to women. 

In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed in the USA, however it exempted white collar female workers from the act until it was amended in 1972.  In 1970 the remarkable Eleanor Holmes Norton sued Newsweek on behalf of 60 female reporters for discrimination, and won.

In the 1960’s women stood together to fight for their rights alongside the other important campaigns of that decade, Human Rights and Civil Rights.  There was much overlap, naturally, but never forget that Women’s Rights on their own is a very important chapter in our recent history.  It coincided with Feminism and may sometimes be intermingled.  In the past 50 years I believe that many women have rejected what these fighting women accomplished for the good of the whole.  I will address this separately under Feminism and the 3 “waves”.