Women’s Equality Day is an American national holiday that commemorates the moment in which women were given the right to vote. Even though there are still some debates in nowadays society regarding the equality between men and women, we have come far from the period in which women’s rights were not respected at all.
Women’s Equality Day History
The right to vote was granted to women on 26th August 1920. This decision was made public and proclaimed by the law when the 19th Amendment was certified in the Constitution. Every president of the United States, starting from 1878, has published a version of this document, in the attempt to create this national women day.
Womens rights day was decided to be celebrated every year, on the 26th of August. The official decision in this matter was not taken until 1971. This special day is also known as women suffrage day. Voting rights were gained by women all over the world, from Finland to the United States.
Finland was, in fact, the first European country that allowed women the right to vote, followed by Norway. Among the last nations in which women obtained equal rights were France, Greece, Switzerland, and Spain. Both the United States and Canada granted this right before the second World War. Back in those days, a lot of female citizens were being part of Associations that organized many public demonstrations, some of which were ending in arrests.
Some of the articles on womens rights presented the concept of the august woman. This was a strong person who was willing to fight all the way to gain her right to engage in all public events and decision making. After women’s equality day, many female citizens have joined different public services and political entities.
The 19th Amendment Wiki Explanation
This Constitutional law states that anyone, no matter their sex, should be able to vote. However, this in only the main focus of the 19th Amendment. Furthermore, this Amendment also states some other rights when it comes to women. It also gave the female citizens wider rights and the liberty to make their decisions regarding giving birth and raising children, purchasing and owning private lands, marriage, professional aspects, and money.
If you read some of the 19th amendment quotes, you can see that the entire society is admitting to having treated women as second-class citizens. Therefore, they were not allowed to manifest their choice when it came to voting. Furthermore, womens rights articles state that before 1920, they did not have the same privileges and rights as the male citizens of America.
Even though, some suffrages movements existed since 1848 or even earlier, the American Constitution never really officially approached the matter of women’s rights until 1920. The serious and more important public displays of suffragettes started after the Civil War ended, during the era of reconstruction. Moreover, the 19th Amendment also recognized women’s contributions and support in the time of war. It is a day to celebrate their achievements within the workforce, while their men were fighting on the battlefield. They showed their strength in producing weapons, supplies, cars, and much more.
How to Celebrate Women’s Equality Day?
According to some, woman suffrage today is not completed yet. Although women have gained many rights over the years, there are still some differences when it comes to the society’s approach to male and female citizens. For example, there are companies that would rather hire men to occupy certain jobs. Moreover, some firms are known to pay higher salaries to men that have the same educational and professional background as some women.
However, on their rights’ day, women should enjoy and participate in nice activities and events, remembering the efforts and sacrifices made by the suffragettes back in the days.
There are a lot of ways in which you can celebrate this special day, but some activities are wiser than others and help strengthen the process that women started in 1920.
- Register to vote. It took a long time for women to be able to vote and also gain other rights to be equal to men. Voting is a great method in which you can honor the Suffragettes’ fight for quality. Furthermore, through your vote you can improve both your life and your children’ s future. By casting your vote, you will only go further into the women emancipation and development process.
- Do some online research. If you feel that you do not know so many things about this national holiday or the suffragettes’ movements, you should try to find out more. You can do this by either go to the local library and read magazines and newspapers as well as documents dated 1920. There is also another faster way to do You can simply go online and search information on Google, about this day. Being informed helps you take better decisions.
- Participating in special events. There are many different events organized on this day, all over the United States. You can search for details about the one closest to you and join the rest of the participants. It is nice to feel that you are part of something important and that you have the power in your hands to accomplish many things and make a difference.
In conclusion, women’s equality day is an important nationwide holiday. Therefore, all women should celebrate it also by remembering the efforts made by the suffragettes to gain equal rights for all the citizens.
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