Sunday 6 March 2016

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

The year 1920 is very important for women around the world. In this year women were given the right to vote.
However, women then didn't have the same rights as men. Women's rights have considerably changed in the last decades, although there are many countries in which women's rights are still non-existent.
Some of the limitations on women's rights were:
1. Most married at a very young age.
2. Women were having children at a much younger age, too.
3. Oral contraception didn't exist.
4. Women could get fired for being pregnant. 
5. They couldn't sue for sexual harassment. 
6. They would face difficulty getting a credit card. 
7. Marital rape wasn't criminalized. 
8. Women couldn't get an Ivy League education—with a few exceptions. 
9. There were no women in the military. 
10. Legal abortions didn't exist. 
11. Serious discrimination ran rampant in the workplace. 
12. In many states, women couldn't serve on juries. 
And, of course:
13. They didn't have the right to vote. 

BUT

THERE ARE MANY WOMEN WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)


wrote the most significant book in the early feminist movement, A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She was a true pioneer in the struggle for female suffrage.

"The beginning is always today."



social activist and leading figure in the early women’s rights movement. She was a key figure in helping create the early women’s suffrage movements in the US. 

“The best protection any woman can have... is courage.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006)


wrote  The Feminine Mystique ,a best seller. She campaigned for an extension of female rights and an end to sexual discrimination. 

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.

Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)


was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. In the 1970s, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a non-governmental organisation promoting environmental conservation and women’s rights. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to fighting for democratic rights and especially for encouraging women to better their situation

“African women in general need to know that it's OK for them to be the way they are - to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence.

Shirin Ebadi (1947 – )


was awarded the Nobel Peace prise for her work in promoting human and women’s rights in her native Iran. She was one of the founders of the Nobel Women’s initiatives supporting women’s rights around the world.

"I maintain that nothing useful and lasting can emerge from violence."

Malala Yousafzai (1997 – )



Is a Pakistani schoolgirl who defied threats of the Taliban to campaign for the right to education. After surviving an assassination attempt, she became a leading advocate for women’s rights, especially the right to education.

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 

Dolores Huerta (1930 – )



is a labor leader and civil rights activist who, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). She has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and womens' rights.

“Every minute a chance to change the world.”

Rigoberta Menchú (1959 – )


has worked her whole life to publicizing the plight of Guatemala's indigenous peoples and to promoting indigenous rights in the country. She received the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and Prince of Asturias Award in 1998.

 “We have learned that change cannot come through war. War is not a feasible tool to use in fighting against the oppression we face. War has caused more problems. We cannot embrace that path.

Mirabal Sisters


were three Dominican sisters who fought against the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. They were killed in Nov. 25, 1960. They fought for a democracy and the UN, in 1999, designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in their honour.

“Young people have to defend their rights, they have nothing to lose and much to gain.”

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (1907 – 1954)


Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition, and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form.

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”

Clara Campoamor Rodriguez (1888 – 1972)



was the lead advocate on women’s rights and suffrage during the creation of the Spanish constitution in 1931. She is credited with insisting upon the clause in the constitution that ensures gender equality today.

“¡Poor male politician, who stick to the hope that nothing will be transformed in this country, that nothing will evolve, that nothing and nobody will spiritually awake, and will work towards future!” 

Federica Montseny (1905 – 1994)


was a unique combination of revolutionary and dedicated social reformer who became the first female Cabinet minister in Spain. She was a lone woman in the then all-male world of Spanish politics. As a minister, she improved orphanage conditions, created schools for prostitute rehabilitation, and attempting to safely regulate abortion.

“The people themselves, and only the people determine the rhythm of our fight.”


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