Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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570

Up to 200 years ago women had few rights.

they were not allowed to vote, and in some societies

they were considered the property of their fathers

or husbands. By the mid-19th century, women were

demanding equality with men. they wanted suffrage—

the right to vote in elections—and an equal chance

to work and be educated. they demanded the right to

have their own possessions, to divorce their husbands,

and to keep their children after a divorce. the fight

for women’s rights was also called feminism. the first

organized demand for the vote occurred in the United

states in 1848. By the 1920s, women had won some battles,

particularly for the vote and greater education. In the

1960s women renewed their call for equal rights. this new

protest was named the women’s liberation movement and

led to laws in many countries to stop discrimination against

women. yet today, in some

countries, women are still

denied full voting rights.

Women at War

World War I 573-

women in Britain worked to keep

factories going while the men fought.

they proved that women were just

as capable as men. In 1918, British

women over 30 got voting rights.

two years later, all american women

also gained the vote.

Women’s lIBeratIon movement

During the late 1960s and 1970s, the

women’s liberation movement fought for

further improvements in women’s rights.

Women everywhere demonstrated for equal

pay, better health care, and an end to

pornography and violence against women.

sUffragettes

In 1905, a newspaper used the word suffragette to

insult women who were fighting for the vote.

However, the suffragettes were delighted with the

name, which has been used ever since. many

suffragettes broke the law and went to prison for

their beliefs. Women who used peaceful means to

obtain the vote were called suffragists.

force–feeDIng

In 1909, suffragettes

in prison refused to

eat. Jailers fed them

by pouring liquid

food down tubes

forced through the

women’s noses and

into their stomachs.

It was painful and

seriously injured some

women. force-feeding

ended in 1913.

Women’s rights 570-

1792 mary Wollstonecraft of

Britain published A Vindication

of the Rights of Woman.

1848 first women’s rights

conference, seneca falls,

new york, calls for voting

rights for women.

1893 new Zealand is the first

country to grant voting

rights to women.

1917 Jeannette rankin of

montana is the first woman

elected to congress.

1920 19th amendment grants

women a vote.

1923 alice paul introduces

the first equal rights

amendment to congress.

1960 sirimavo Bandaranaike

of sri lanka becomes world’s

first female prime minister.

1963 federal equal pay act

outlaws paying women less

than men for the same job.

1966 national organization

for Women (noW) founded.

1979 Un passes convention

on the elimination of all

forms of Discrimination

against Women.

emIl y DavIson

In 1913, British suffragette emily

Davison leaped under a racehorse

owned by King edward vII and died.

Her protest drew attention to the

votes for Women campaign.

sUsan B. antHony

one of the leaders of the suffrage

movement in the United states,

susan B. anthony (1820-1906) helped

launch Revolution, the first feminist newspaper.

WorKIng Women

In the United states about

47 percent of workers are women.

But relatively few hold important

positions, and most earn less than

men doing the same jobs.

Women’s Rights

Suffragettes publicized

their campaign by chaining

themselves to the railings

of famous buildings.

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