Fight for Women's Equality and Suffrage
The fight for women's suffrage which took place in the United States initiated the women’s rights movement that occurred in the mid-nineteenth century. This reform had its effort encompassed in a broad spectrum that defined acute goals of women hood and its freedom. The leaders engaged in this fight for freedom priorly focused on securing equal voting rights for women.
In this section, we are going to discuss the Women’s Rights Movement in great detail. Apart from this, our concentration will also be based on the Women’s Liberation movement which proves to be one of the significant movements in the walk of freedom.
Women’s Liberation Movement
The women's liberation movement was indeed a struggle for equality. In fact, this struggle was not based individually rather this was based on collective power that truly defined women's empowerment. This was very much effective during the late 1960s and 1970s. This movement was intended to free women from any oppression or male supremacy.
Why is the Name?
The liberalisation movement included the women's liberation groups, advocacy groups, protests squads, feminist theory analysts and also other variety of diverse individuals and group actions that were displayed on behalf of the women and their freedom.
The term- ‘Women Liberalization Movement’ was crafted keeping in mind the liberation and freedom movements that were taking place at that time.
Also, in other parts, the racial justice movement at this time had begun which called themselves the "Black liberation." This term "liberation" indicates not just any case of independence from the oppression and male supremacy or for any individual women, rather this term connotes the solidarity that existed among the women who were seeking independence that ended with oppression for the women collectively required in force.
(To note: The term "women's liberation movement" is also used in synonym with the "women's movement" or the famous “second-wave feminism”. Apart from this, there were also many other types of feminist groups.)
First wave Feminism Summary
Feminism in World history is particularly categorized as the term ‘waves’ – which indicates the time periods that are being aimed to highlight the women’s status in the society at large and give them equal rights as an opportunity to represent themselves shoulder to shoulder with the men.
In the topic of ‘first wave of feminism summary,’ this goes without saying that women's empowerment started in the western world at the beginning of the nineteenth and also in the early twentieth century.
This first phase is revolving largely around gaining the basic legal rights for women in this modern day. Effectively, today we cannot imagine our reality without the basic rights given to women. Politics and business were totally under the power of men who didn’t even consider women capable enough to be a threat that was fought in the first wave of feminism.
Women in their households were confined to their households and didn’t retain any control there as well. Unmarried women were seen as the property of their fathers, and married women the property of their husbands. They didn’t have the ability to file for divorce or be granted custody of their children.
Women who did their own work were held low positions like staff and workers while the men worked in the management line in large factories which were too controlled by men. As the women had no right to vote in the elections, they were called ‘Second class’ which was actually an understatement.
Second Wave Feminism
The second wave of feminism began in the early 1960s and this continued into the 1990s as well. This wave generated the era of anti-war which filled the air with the civil rights motions that were going on in the American states. The movements for such rights and the growing self-consciousness beamed in those times. This had a variety of minority groups that too fought in this movement from various parts of the world. The New Left was on the leveling heights, and thus the voice of the second wave increased even further.
In this second wave of feminism, the main issue was based on sexuality and reproductive rights. These were mostly the dominant during this time. In this effect, the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees social equality regardless of any sex was the dire need of the moment.
Property Rights for Women
In this context, we will focus our attention on the Hindu law of the Property Rights for Women in the Indian continent.
According to the Indian Hindu Law:
The daughters have an equal right of inheritance of property just like the sons have on their father’s property.
Daughters have their share of their mother’s property.
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act which was passed in the year 2005 came into effectual force on September 9th in the year 2005. This Amendment Act removes any kind of gender-discriminatory provisions that were earlier issued in the Hindu Succession Act that was passed in the year 1956 and thereby the new amended Act gives the following rights to their daughters:
The daughter of any coparcener shall by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son will be a coparcener in the same case.
The daughter will share the same rights in the coparcenary property as the son shares in the same.
The daughter shall fall under the same liability in the coparcenary property as that will be done by the son;
The daughter should be allotted the same share as will be allotted to a son.
A married daughter has no right to seek shelter in her parents’ house, nor any maintenance is to be provided to her. Also, there should be no charge that would be passed on to her husband. However, a married daughter will have her right of residence if she is deserted, divorced or if she is widowed.
A woman will gain full rights over any property that she has earned in the past or present or which has been gifted or willed in her name, this will be applied once she has attained the age of majority. Also, she is free to dispose of the property by way of sale, gift, or will whatever it is deemed fit.
Did You Know?
In Saudi Arabia, women are given the right to vote in the year 2015. While the Vatican City was only left out where women’s suffrage still is being denied in recent times.
In the early democratic societies of Greece and the Roman Republic, women did not have the right to vote.
In the year 1893, New Zealand was the first self-governing country to give its women a lasting chance to cast their vote.
Conclusion
The women’s Rights Movement was no less than a freedom struggle for women at large from all over the world. Even activist leaders who were necessarily not women joined this struggle. This struggle is even continuing. Today, still womanhood is facing real problems which ought to be addressed and resolved on a bigger scale.
FAQs on Women’s Rights Movement
1. Why did the Women’s Rights Movement start in the first place?
The movement was initiated originally for women’s suffrage. This movement started in the early time of 19th century at the time of the agitation against the slavery movement in many countries. Another event instigated its rise - Elizabeth Cady Stanton joined the antislavery movement, she and Mott agreed together that the rights of women must be looked into as well as those of slaves were required to be redressed, with this thought process, the Women’s Rights Movement started in a growing phase.
2. Answer the following questions:
1. Name the first Women’s Rights Movement.
2. How long did the Women's rights movement last?
The answers are given below:
The first attempt to organize a national movement for awakening women's rights occurred in Seneca Falls, in the nation of New York, during the month of July in the year 1848.
The Women's movement in the United States was a decade long fight to get the right to vote in the country for women. All the leaders, activists as well as reformers were contributing and it took almost 100 years to win the battle.
