Women's Rights Quote #17

Today...something from the Irish suffrage movement...in honor of St. Patrick's Day:

You know how deep is the conviction of the best women in Ulster ... this claim has reached all parts of the Province, all grades of society, all creeds and classes, that the possession of the franchise ... is an absolute
necessity ... it is impossible for women to do their duty, and to protect their interests and dignity, without the same weapon men find essential for the same purposes. -- Tod, ‘Women and the New Franchise Bill’, pp. 396-403., as quoted by Urquhart, Diane(2002) ''An articulate and definite cry for political freedom': the ulster suffrage movement', Women's History Review, 11: 2, 273 — 292

Women's Rights Quote #16

"As they passed the rows of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in groups, gossiping and laughing.

"What has happened?' the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby carriage along the sidewalk.

"Why, we've had a revolution, your Majesty -- as you ought to know very well,' replied the man; 'and since you went away the women have been running things to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City.'

"Hm!' said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. 'If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?'

"I really do not know,' replied the man, with a deep sigh. 'Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron."
— L. Frank Baum (The Marvelous Land of Oz)

Read more about the connection between Baum and the women's rights movement here.

Women's Rights Quote #15

"THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification." 

The Equal Rights Amendment, first proposed in 1923 to affirm that women and men have equal rights under the law, is still not part of the U.S. Constitution. 

 

The ERA was passed out of Congress in 1972 and has been ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states.  When three more states vote yes, it is possible that the ERA could become the 28th Amendment. The ERA could also be ratified by restarting the traditional process of passage by a two-thirds majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, followed by ratification by legislatures in three-quarters (38) of the 50 states.

Find out about the simple justice of this amendment ... and join the historic effort to achieve equal rights for women and men at EqualRightsAmendment.org.

Women's Rights Quote #14

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is:  I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute.  ~Rebecca West, "Mr Chesterton in Hysterics: A Study in Prejudice," The Clarion, 14 Nov 1913, reprinted in The Young Rebecca, 1982

Women's Rights Quote #12

I can't say that the college-bred woman is the most contented woman. The broader her mind the more she understands the unequal conditions between men and women, the more she shafes under a government that tolerates it.-- Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Quote #11

Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.-- Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Quote #10

The rank and file are not philosophers, they are not educated to think for themselves, but simply to accept, unquestioned, whatever comes.-- Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Quote #9

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.--Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Quote #8

Men - their rights and nothing more; Women - their rights and nothing less.--Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Quote #7

She had lived and breathed and thought and acted as directed by father and mother all these years, and now her father was dead and she was left under sole charge and direction of her mother. Her mother, did I say? A selfish tyrant, rather, to whom she was bound by those ties most binding to people trained as this girl had been. Affection, obedience, control of her will, all in the name of duty and religion.--Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's Rights Quote #6

Once possessor of a name but now by virtue of a few words, merely an auxiliary to her reverend husband.--Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's Rights Quote #5

To those who fancy we are near the end of the battle or that the reformer's path is strewn with roses, we may say them nay. The thick of the fight has just begun; the hottest part of the warfare is yet to come, and those who enter it must be willing to give up father, mother and comforts for its sake. Neither shall we who carry on the fight, reap the great reward. We are battling for the good of those who shall come after us; they, not ourselves, shall enter into the harvest.--Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's Rights Quote #4

We belong to a period of the world's struggle; our opportunities and our duties lie with the world as we find it, and women as human beings have inherent rights to share in all the duties of the world, in all methods of the world's progress, because in these duties, in these methods, lie developing powers.--Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's Rights Quote #2

The injustice of man towards woman under the laws of both Church and State engrafted upon society, have resulted in many evils unsuspected by the world, which if known would strike it with amazement and terror.--Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's Rights Quote #1

“Do not allow the Church or State to govern your thought or dictate your judgment.”--Matilda Joslyn Gage