Check out this video on women's equity, it's quick, snappy, and full of interesting factoids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NfBnPzpptc
This really
made me think about truly how long women have been struggling with crap. I had
a pretty clear picture already of how long women have been dealing with the assumption
that their life should only be about child-rearing and serving their husband. What
was new to me here, however, was the extent at which purposeful, vindictive laws
were made to keep women from having power since FOREVER. I found it pretty amazing the wild and crafty
ways women since the beginning of time have found ways to get around these misogynistic
laws, like the chariot races and Victoria Woodhall (she couldn't vote but ran
for president, whah?! How backwards is that?). It saddens me that women in
Saudia Arabia still can't drive and have to depend on the males in their family
to get around. Nowadays, driving can truly be a lifeline and it can be near
impossible to gain access to life's essentials without out (unless you live in
a walkable urban area). What is it about women that some men felt the need to suppress and
manipulate into subservience?
What
I found inspiring about this video was how much it revelaed to me about the
SUCCESSES women have had in gaining rights and power in some countries so
early on in world history. For instance, women have had the right to own land since 1892 in New
Zealand. It makes any country that didn't adopt this until much later look
pretty prehistoric. I also didn't know about the first female elected to lead a
country in 1960 in Sri Lanka. And to think what females were dealing with in
the U.S. at that time! I'd like to learn more about Sri Lankan society and what
special qualities they had to make them more open to this idea lightyears ahead of other countries. I
also found it sad the note about Hillary Clinton, how she could change history
in a "few short months..." Oh, how I wish that could have led to a
happy ending!
