Today is Women’s Equality Day. Imagine that 100 years ago, you didn’t have the right to vote – in case you’re a woman. Despite that we’ve acquired many rights during the past decades, it still marks a very important day. Let’s take a closer look.
Cover photo: © Unsplash
Women’s equality day
Women’s equality is yearly celebrated on the 26th of August in the United States. At this day, we celebrate the affirmation of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It made an end to discrimination on basis of sex, when it comes to voting. In 1973 it was first celebrated and it has been a yearly event ever since.
Activists and true feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass used their power to make a change. They did not only make the old rules relevant, they became historic figures as well. Simple rights that are taken for granted by many nowadays, weren’t as easy as that less than 100 years ago.Let’s not forget about that.
Why it still matters
Equality is more than just an issue, it’s a social and economic issue. And despite, we’ve come very, very far, there’s still a very rocky road to go. A couple of months ago, the anti-abortus law shook up the United States. It was a rough decision taken solely by men (there was just one woman within the decision-making body). It’s striking that we feel more privileged than ever (in fact we are), but still can’t make decision about our own bodies.
Positive movements
Despite the ‘bad’ news, there’s also another side of the coin. For example, more and more women are running for office – something that we’ve couldn’t image a couple of years ago. On top of this, the majority of voters is female. It shows we’ve learned to stand our man.
Hopefully, the number of women in the parliament will keep increasing, so the legislation will change in favor of women as well. Because – after all – the future is female and we have to make it happen ourselves.
You will also like:
How modern perspectives on women inspire illustrator Amber Vittoria
