Women's Role In American History

A woman is a sword. She is struck by unseen blows and thrust into suffocating flames—repeatedly. She is tempered by her hardships and emerges as a sword, to strike fear in the hearts of her enemies. With men assuming positions of power and prestige throughout the ages, women have been overlooked. They are criticized as the weaker sex and are treated worse than children in some non-Western nations. Their ideas cry unheard and their dreams go unsung. However, as we move into the modern era, women are rejecting their traditional standing as man’s shadow. With this revolutionary refusal, women around the world are burgeoning into their full potential. Women in American history have long played important roles from Abigail Adams and her clandestine letters to Alice Paul and her bold proclamation for women’s equality. Partly inspired by the
In India, tradition has spawned a chain that imprisons women. It is rusted with rape, acid throwing, and forced prostitution. And as a woman myself, I have seen the links of this chain during visits to Sri Lanka. To marry, women are pressured to pay a dowry and provide a house. If a woman is destitute, she will not marry or have a family. The culprit, tradition, cleaves a chasm between the rights of men and women to prevent a bridge of gender equality. Although the United States is the leading nation in women’s rights, she can still improve. For instance, France has expanded women’s rights by passing gender equality laws regarding abortion and maternity leave. The United States as a leader has already passed legislation protecting women’s rights, but now she needs to transcend and pass an amendment that states equality of rights shall not be denied “by any state on account of sex” (Francis). The United States needs the Equal Rights Amendment, to finally declare equality between both