Student Paper F99-1-8
Fall 1999, Section I
Reviewer Comments
Girls Just Wanna Have Rights!
Before the growth and industrialization of Europe the church or the monarchy was the main control over the people. Oftentimes people would fear these higher powers and do things without question. However, more and more people became better educated and found out ways to challenge or get around the system and change it to their benefit. Except for women. Women were refused many of the rights that men had. They did not have the right to own property, get an education, get a divorce or have the right to vote; just to name a few. European family law worked to the disadvantage of women.' They were expected to be submissive to their husbands and families and do whatever it took to care for them. Towards the mid-nineteenth century more and more women were becoming better educated. Because of their increased education women soon became aware of the fact that they were just as efficient as men and able to have the same rights.
During the 18th and 19th century's women had less of an opportunity of getting and education than men did. That available to them was poor compared to that of men and was focused more on domestic expectations. Schools soon began to allow women to attend; however, it was mostly at the elementary level of learning. Closer to the 20th century women's status began to change and more school began to allow women to attend. Women soon are able to get educated at the highest levels. Universities began to allow women in the late 1800's. For instance, The University of Zurich opened its doors to women in the 1860's. Many other major universities soon follow and women's colleges are founded and opened. The first one being in Cambridge during the later part of the century.2 These advances lingered into the early 20th century as well. Many women went to other countries to study and get educated. For instance, many Russian women attended Zurich to get medical degrees.3 Men began to fear these women that were progressing and becoming educated. Many were able to get degrees in medicine and law. At the time, women were the majority of the teachers at the elementary levels. It was known as a "female-job" because of the association with the nurturing of children.4 These ladies were considered educated but not at the university level. New jobs were beginning to come into play and opened up many opportunities for women. As the government began to grow as well as corporations and other large companies the employment opportunities grew. Teachers, secretaries, and clerks were needed to run these new businesses. These jobs were jobs for women and education and skills were very beneficial in obtaining such positions. On the other end of the spectrum women were being taken away from their jobs as well. With changes and new growth of different businesses jobs were decreased, therefore many people lost their jobs, the majority of them being women. When this happened, if a woman was not married, she would oftentimes have to take care of herself somehow. Due to the surplus amount of women looking for employment and the low number of jobs available many women turned to prostitution. To try and keep women off of the streets and engaging in the immoral acts they were offered an education and the opportunity to go to school. This was to try and help women and girls with life skills and morals and to help them find and keep jobs. With the increasing amount of women going to school and getting and education, it opened their eyes and revealed to them just how unequally they have been treated.
Many women soon realize the amount of inequality and step out and fight for the rights they could not obtain. John Locke stated that "...all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same faculties, should also be equal one amongst another without subordination or subjection.."5 This saying that everyone, men and women, is capable and should have the same rights. These many inequalities lead to many feminist groups rising up and fighting for their rights. Those that were mere educated took charge and began to present their ideas and plans to other women. For instance, Mary Wollstonecraft, a well-educated woman, wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She criticized Rousseau's view of women and expressed how she felt things should be. She states that writers such as Rousseau have contributed to render women more artificial, weak characters, than they would other wise have been and consequently, mere useless members of society..."6 Wollstonecraft feels that women should be independent of men in saying, "...strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience..." She responds to Rousseau's idea of a woman to.. "never, for a moment, fell herself as independent..." as "nonsense."7 Other women also stepped in to help further women's rights. Olympe de Gouges, who was proved to be on the most outspoken and articulate revolutionaries tells women to "...wake up: the tocsin of reason is being heard throughout the whole universe; discover your right."8 Many women went to great lengths to fight for their rights. The most advanced woman's movement in Europe was in Great Britain It was led by Millicent Fawcett. It was known as the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, which worked on getting women the right to vote. Emmeline Pankhurst led another, more radical, group of women She and her followers were often referred to as suffragettes. A lot of women went to great lengths, both publicly and privately, for the extension of vote to women.9 By the early 20th century the government did not cooperate with the women so many of them turned to violence. Arson, window breaking, and the sabotage of postal boxes were often a problem to cities and towns. Many women were thrown in jail and went on hunger strikes because they stood so firmly on getting equal rights. The government did not want to have to deal with the consequences of the women dying in their jails and were forced to force-feed those who were on strike.
Women were ready to fight for their equality and did. Once they were able to become educated, they soon realized how little they had and found ways to get what they wanted. Some of the major laws that were changed were in 1857 women were given the right to divorce their husband; in 1865 The University of Zurich began the movement of allowing women to attend major schools; 1918 some British women were permitted to vote. By the late 1920s women were able to do most of what men were able to do, vote, own property, divorce and get and education Due to the education and realization of inequality and persistence of fighting for what you believe women were able to get many, many things they deserved. When given the opportunity to learn, great changes can occur and it is evident that women took advantage of their chance to learn and make a difference.
1 Kagan, Ozment, Turner, The Western Heritage, Volume II Since 1648 (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey) 847.
2 The Western Heritage, 847
3 The Western Heritage, 847
4 The Western Heritage, 848
5 John Locke, Modern History Sourcebook, Two Treatises of Government, 1690.
6 Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
7 Wollstonecraft
8 Olympe de Gouge, Modern History Sourcebook, Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791.
9 The Western Heritage, 855
Bibliography
De gouge, Olympe, "Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791" www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html
Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment, and Frank M. Turner, The Western Heritage, Volume II Since 1648, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 1998.
Locke, John, "Two Treatises of Government, 1690." www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/l 690locke-sel.html#CHAPTER II: Of the State of Nature
Wollstonecraft, Mary, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" www.baylor.edu/~BIC/WCIII/Essays/rights_of_woman.html