PEACETOPIAN MILESTONES

A holistic movement for a better world
has been evolving throughout history...

1920 -
19th Amendment - Women's Right to Vote

Even though they make up half the population, women and girls have endured discrimination in most societies for thousands of years. In the past, women were largely treated as property of their husbands or fathers - they couldn't own land, they couldn't vote or go to school, and were subject to beatings and abuse. Over the last hundred years, much progress has been made to gain equal rights for women around the world, but many still live without the rights to which all people are entitled. Gaining the right to vote and hold a public office was a major milestone in the struggle for women's rights. The women's suffrage movement, which secured these rights for women, can be traced to France in the 1780s. The French Revolution was inspired by the writers of the Enlightenment who spoke about the equality and natural rights of all people -- men and women. Although the French constitution that was adopted did not grant women equal rights, during the Revolution women worked hand-in-hand with men with an expectation of this ideal goal in mind. Over the next 130 years, movements arose all around the world to gain rights for women. International organizations and alliances formed to better organize and coordinate these movements, including the International Council of Women in 1888 and the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in 1904. During this time, women gained limited voting rights around the world: temporarily in some American colonies in the 1700s; Wyoming Territory in 1869; New Zealand in 1893; Finland in 1907; Norway in 1913; and finally with the passage of the 19th Amendment, women were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women specifically addresses women's suffrage as a right for all women.