Women’s Rights is an extremely ethical topic that is surrounded by ethical theories and has a lot of history. While some of the theoretical systems in ethics have helped to gain women their rights, others have assisted in preventing women rights. Women in America have seen much improvement in our modern day society regarding Women’s Rights, but what about the women in less economically stable countries? Women continue to fight against abuse, hatred, and discrimination worldwide. I will be discussing not only Women’s Rights history, but also several theoretical systems and how they have impacted Women’s Rights in America and other countries.
Women have fought for equal rights for many centuries. Prior to the twentieth century women in America often stayed home to cook, clean and take care of the children. Women were not given an opinion on the household, they simply did what they were told to do. Women typically did not work or go to school, and were often viewed as domestic beings while men were the head of the house hold. It was not until the late 1800’s, some women were able to volunteer as nurses or housekeepers to help during the Civil War (Sivulka). Women assisted in caring for the injured, as well as cooking meals for the soldiers and doing laundry. Even though the tasks were similar, just feeling needed in another environment other than home was probably fulfilment in itself. After the Civil War, the progress seemed to stall. In fact it was not until about the
Women’s rights in America in late 1800’s women’s right to vote women in medicine and the equal rights for women are the 3 main points that were big in the 1800’s.
In the 1800s women were looked upon as second-class citizens, depriving them the right to vote, run for office, to become educated or even to have any type of profession. After women were married they were not allowed to own their own property, wages/income, or sign contracts. After decades of intense political activities and rallies women were granted the right to vote in the year 1920. Women decided to take a stand as one and fight for equality amongst men and women, even if it meant dying for women in the future to one day cast a vote or run in the election.
Women have played a defining role in contributing to shaping Canada, as well as the classic Charter of Rights and Freedoms, mainly to promote gender equality which has become the core values in Canada today. Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights fixed in the Constitution of Canada, and is the first part of the Constitution Act. Women’s rights and freedoms are protected under Section 15 (1985) which guarantees equality rights and Section 28 (1985) which guarantees that all the rights enclosed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply to both genders; male or female equally. (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982). Sexism has been around for a long time despite these strong regulations, and that too mainly
As said by Phylicia Rashas, “Any time women come together with a collective intention, it's a powerful thing. Whether it's sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal...or planning a birthday party, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens.” This is exactly what happened during the Civil War. Before the war, women were simply expected to do work around the house. Their jobs included cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. This was called the “Cult of True Womanhood” and women whose lifestyles followed this path were considered “True Women”. However, women had to take on much more difficult tasks as the Civil War approached. Women played a vital role during the Civil War
As you walk down the street today, what do you notice about the people around you? Maybe there’s a white male, an Asian female, and a Latin male. Other than visual cues, there is no indication that there are any differences between one person or another. Any one person, whether black, white, male, or female, can enter any establishment, get a job, buy a piece of land, or vote in an election. However, this has not always been the case. Most of these people at one point or another had limited rights in the United States. Specifically, in the 1800’s, women had limited rights, especially after marriage. Once a woman was wed, she was no longer able to take in her own wages, sign a contract, or own any property. What were the rights that women were lacking, and where do we stand on those issues now? Have we come as far as we think we have with women’s rights? We have a widespread misconceived notion that women have equal rights, but we still have a ways to go. On the surface, it seems that we are all equal finally. However, there are still issues that are still being argued after over 150 years of being in front of our government.
Women’s suffrage has stretched from the 1800’s to present day, as women have struggled to have the same civil and constitutional rights as men in politics and be appreciated as equals in the workforce. Groups of women known as suffragists questioned the customary views of women’s roles. Eventually our nation has evolved and realized that male-controlled societies suppress women’s rights. From the beginning steps taken in 1850 to 2013 with women earning combat roles in the military, women’s roles to society, their work ethic, and progressively public aptitude, as a whole should be allowed the right to vote, help the country grow economically, politically, and have the overall rights equal to those of men.
People were not only discriminated due to their race but some of their gender, which affected their political rights in a multitude of ways. To illustrate, one of the Colonies most unspoken laws, dating from Ancient Greece to 1920, is that women have no right to vote and that only the gentry could contribute in political matters according to the Governor. Additionally, a law from Great Britain in stated that if a landowning woman is to marry, she must sign a document stating she is giving her property to the husband. However, in the case of Anne Cart, a wealthy indigo farmer who was engaged, she testified to a jury that the land was worth more under her ownership and she won the right to own it. Another example is that 97% of court cases involving dark magic is directed towards women accused of witchcraft and found that 78% of the women are convicted and hung. This shows that in the 16th century, people thought women were generally inferior to men and treated them as such politically.
People have been fighting for rights for many years now, from women to men, from blacks to whites, from animal cruelty, and the list goes on forever. At time the struggle of women’s rights extended way beyond what some may think. Women wanted the right to own property or get the chance to vote. Women had to fight for their individual right and to secure an education and the women had to plan their families and control their lives.
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, women in America have been striving to obtain rights equal to that of men. Before that time, women were viewed as physically, as well as mentally, inferior to men. Men had the upper hand, in all walks of life, including the workplace and at home. Obtaining equality among men has proven to be a difficult uphill battle for women, but, by the mid-1800 's, women began to see the fruits of their labors. It all began on July 19, 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Hunt, Martha Coffin Wright, Lucretia Mott and Mary Ann McClintock organized a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This convention marked the first organized women 's movement in the United States of America. At the time, the rights of
In today’s society women have acquired more rights than they have had in years. Women now have the ability to do so many things that they couldn’t before, things that they had to fight for such as voting, working outside the home, making family decisions and so much more. This is a constant battle though because there are many people that constantly fight against women’s rights including lawmakers who would like to see their rights suppressed again in the form of child bearing and what jobs are available to women. Women still suffer from unequal pay in the workforce which accounts for a portion of the poverty rate in America. According to http://www.iwpr.org in 2014 women made approximately 79 percent of the wages that men did, equaling a 21 percent pay gap. When you account for the fact that many of these women are single parents supporting a family with no help, you might ask yourself how this is even ethical or right in a society such as ours. According to Utilitarianism we must do what produces the best results for the greatest amount of people. (Mosser, 2013) Since women account for a little over half of the population in the U.S, assuring that they are treated equally and fairly seems like what is in the best interest of the greatest amount of people.
There came a time in the United States where the so called Equal rights amendment has been ratified. Where women were recognized as housewives, defining them as what women are suppose to do and nothing else. Although these women wanted more in life such as freedom to do what they want just like men do everyday. If the men were able to work,vote, speak, and do as they please then why couldn't women do the same? If everyone had equal rights. Women aren't to be defined as what their identity is or what race they are nor the capabilities and responsibilities they are capable of doing.I strongly agree with these women of wanting to be equal with man because if it wasn't for the woman's right movement, our society today wouldn't allow women to work, teach, play a sport. Basically do a man’s job. Additionally having the woman as housewives because that's what the society and men thought of women, being at home to care for the kids and household. That is why we thank the women's rights movement in our past history that started in 1848. Due to that more girls and women have come to think of themselves as the equals of men. Which has transformed our lives in many ways. For example such as equal pay work as well as even being in the workforce,in general. The opportunities that weren't open for them that are now open as possessing more in terms of options and opportunities.It’s done a great impact because women get to educate themselves to become something they want to be such as a
In the early 1900s, it was very uncommon for women to have access to contraceptives or health education. Then one day, a doctor and a nurse tended to a women at home who was suffering from having an abortion. Just like many women in the U.S. at this time, she was wanting to learn how to prevent pregnancies so she did not have to have any more abortions. As the doctor and nurse left this woman 's house, the women begged the doctor to teach her how she could prevent her own pregnancies. To the nurses disbelief the doctor would not give the woman one once of information. This is the moment where health education would change forever. This moment released the beginning of the fight to make contraceptives
Over several centuries, women have been fighting for their rights. There has been certain changes to benefit women, but they seem to be invisible. We still live in a society where there is gender inequality in all aspects. Including the pay gap, the barriers stopping them to advance in the workforce, health care rights, and justice when speaking about violence (victim blaming). Recognized as “women’s issues” there has been little or no support from several candidates that have run for president; however, the 2016 elections seem to be different. One of the Democate candidates, Hillary Clinton has been fighting for women’s rights and has proposed to make changes for good so that there can be inequality among each other. She states that, “ issues that affect women’s lives are not just “women’s issues”—they are family issues, they are economic issues, and they are crucial to our future competitiveness.” Once, in the office, she will focus on equality and opportunities for girls and women as they are important the future just like men. This issue has been around for years. Some people argue that women will never people treated equally in a society that is ruled by men. Others contend that over the past year women have been on the “ Second Shifts”, having a job where they are getting paid and the house work job which they do not get paid. It is in all of our interest to make a change and support Hillary Clinton to enforce women’s rights. It is time that women are taken for
norms of society, and this furthermore proves how much freedom women were given in ancient Greece regarding sexuality.
Human rights abuse is the breakthrough for countless altered nations in the 20th century. Citizens from every country privileges were abused, they dealt with violence and strived for independence. Being denied freedom in their country! Many different people with power who established the law in terms of what many thought was the best for the people brought it out. A big major issue was women’s rights that were and still are examined as lower to men. Years after of plenty of hard work and battling for equality women gained and were granted their rights to independence. Canada succeeded through three women-based affiliations which was founded acceptable to women’s freedom; Women’s Rights Movements, Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada and Women’s Suffrage.