The Women's Rights Movement

The ongoing fight for women's rights and how it has continued in recent days

By Ayla Cifric  

    After the presentation in class, I learned many new things about women's rights and the women's rights movement. It was interesting to learn about how big of an impact women have made on history over many years. The lesson from class helped me to understand how women have made impacts over the years and the things they have done to do so. This made me think of a larger question: Despite how long women have been fighting for their rights, what are the main reasons they still have to fight for their rights today?

    The fight for women's rights has been happening since the 1800s and is still occurring today.  In 1848, the Seneca Falls convention occurred and was led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. At the convention, the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted. The Declaration of Sentiments demanded equality for women in education, voting, and employment. The fight for women's suffrage culminated in ratifying the 19th Amendment in 1920. This gave women the right to vote after over 70 years of constant battle to achieve equality. In the mid-20th century, women's rights activists started to fight back again, advocating for workplace and home equality, reproductive rights, and discrimination against women. While significant progress and changes have been made over the years, the fight for women's rights is far from over. 

    Today, it is still very common for protests and rallies to happen as there are many people who care and feel strongly about women’s rights. One example of this I have experienced firsthand is Kamala Harris running for president. Although she would have been the first woman to hold the presidential position, she did not rely on her gender as a way to gain supporters. She mainly advocated for women's reproductive rights, abortion rights, as well as economic equality. During her presidential run, she used her platform to help to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022. Beyond abortion and reproductive rights, Harris helped to advance women's economic rights as well as health care access. Kamala Harris is just one example of many women who have continued to fight for women's rights in recent days.