26th of August is designated as Women's Equality Day each year. The official certification of the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution, which gave women the right to vote and represented a crucial stepping stone in the fight for women's rights and gender equality, is celebrated on Women's Equality Day every year. By virtue of Amendment XIX, neither the US state nor the federal government may refuse any American citizen the right to vote on the grounds of sex.
Early in the 19th century, American women were not allowed to inherit property and made half as much as men in any job that was offered. This sparked a call for women to have their due political rights and representation.
As this movement spread throughout the world in the early 20th century, other nations including Finland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom legalized voting for women.
The US first proposed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1878, but it was not well received at the time. When Women's contributions to World War I efforts fully came to light, only then did the women's suffrage campaign start to gain momentum and the support they needed.
(EUGENE GORDON/GETTY IMAGES)
Women's rights organizations also drew attention to the disparity in the laws, noting that while the fight for democracy was being waged in Europe, women's rights were being denied in the US.
The National Organisation for Women (NOW) planned a national "strike for equality" on the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment's adoption into the Constitution. Following this strike, Congresswoman Bella Abzug, also known as Battling Bella, declared August 26 to be Women's Equality Day.
In 1973, Congress's passage of HJ Res 52 was the day it was first celebrated. They said, “The President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women in America were first guaranteed the right to vote.”
Women's Equality Day honors the journey of women's suffrage and serves as a reminder of the many obstacles that courageous women overcame despite experiencing violence and prejudice to advance the women's movement. It serves as a reminder of the long, hard fight that suffragists battled to secure the right of women to vote. It commemorates the achievements made in improving gender equality and women's rights while also reflecting on the ongoing difficulties that still need to be accomplished.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
