Testimonies: What the womens rights movement means to me – Part 3

The effects of the Women’s Rights Movement means that women are now respected as valuable human beings amongst men. And it means that men no longer have the self-administered ability to rule over women but rather, the obligation and expectation to treat them as their equals.

The Women’s Rights Movement is all about equality. It started because women globally believed that they were entitled to all the same freedoms and benefits of men. They believed that they had the right to think for themselves and not have to be instructed by men.

They believed that they had the right to education and to make their own choice for their lives instead of having men tell them what they would do. They believed that they could be as beneficial and challenging to society as any man, and they believed that they could be educated and apply themselves to politics, medicine and society as all men.

Traditionally, women had accepted their inherited role of a specific designation for them, as ruled by men according to their culture. They had no right to choose, to voice an opinion, to refuse whatever was set out for them or to argue. Theirs was strictly an obligation to obey.

As the years passed by, these traditions became more serious and men became more violent against them, treating them as objects of ownership rather than people. It was only a matter of time until the mould would break and someone would take a stand.

Independently, women were not able to take any kind of stand against their mistreatment, but as the attitude for liberation grew amongst them, they became brave and began to rebel in large groups.

It took only a few bold women with nerve to stand up against the social and political standards set by men. Women as a whole watched and joined forces, applauding those that stood in the foreground demanding their equal rights.

What were the rights they demanded? To be accepted and respected as equal members of society, with the privilege of education and career advancement that supported equal remuneration. To have the right to opinion, to suggestion and to participation in all the functions of humanity.

As we look at the distribution of these rights, we see that in some areas they seemingly have not changed. One prime example is the sexual issues where women were once exploited as sex objects for the pleasure of men and at their humiliation. Now they are liberated and free to choose and not obligated to fall prey to man’s sexual desires.