My Great-Grandmother was not a person. Neither was yours. Up until about 67
years ago no females were. We were supposed to be pregnant and barefoot in the
kitchen. At least that's the perception that the laws enforced. (For ex: The
Election Act of the Dominion of Canada and The Common Law of England) As part of
the British Commonwealth many of our laws were the same as England's and
enforced by British parliament. One such law from the Common Law of England
stated that "A woman is not a person in matters of rights and privileges, but
she is a person in matters of pains and penalties." This gave women second class
citizenship.
Women were not recognized as equals to men, even though the expectations of
women were such that the work load was equal if not greater. As pioneer women we
built homes, raised families, maintained the homestead, hunted food, fought
natives, made clothes, cooked, cleaned, as well as the many manual labour jobs
that men held.
Romania, Germany, Canada, Hungary
Rt. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King and guests unveiling ...
English: Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edward...For example, women worked in coal mines, armories, and aided the
war effort via the manufacturing industry, such as factorys. If this is what is
determeined as equality then women were getting the short end of the stick and
men were receiving all of the benifit. This perception still holds strong today,
although not as strongly.
Men said that women were too fragile to vote. Yet no man has ever experienced
labor pains. Furthermore no man has fought any battle that was as hard as the
one the famous five women have fought. The Election Act of the Dominion of
Canada states that "No woman, idiot, lunatic, or criminal shall vote." So women
are equal to criminals? It's not a crime to be a woman. We should not be judged...