Affiliated Institution
Introduction
For decades, the life of a woman on earth was always tough. The woman was subjected to different restrictive laws and requirements by the society that hindered her freedom and other rights, (Winegarten, & McArthur, 2015). The requirements were the polite ways through which the community oppressed women and suppressed their rights and freedoms. During the Seneca Falls women’s right’s convention, it was clearly evident that women were never comfortable with the place the society had placed them. Before 1848, woman was generally treated as subordinate to the man and their roles and rights were always considered inferior to those of men, (Tetrault, 2014). In a convention that only women were invited and very few men whose opinion was not that relevant were present, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton prepared and wrote the declarations to be read and discussed. The declarations were modeled on the declaration of independence of 1776. The declarations were read and only modified slightly during the convention. The men were allowed to vote first but the following day, the women passed the declaration unanimously. The declarations were steered towards the fight for women rights and freedoms while clearly complaining against the oppression within the society. Since then, most of the declarations have been implemented and met, but a few are yet to be achieved.
Stanton was tasked with the responsibility to read the declarations during the convention. Most of the declarations were a clear outcry for the need of women rights to be observed since according to the women, the rights are given by the creator and nature. The rights stated included the right to find happiness, liberty, and the most important of them life, (Tetrault, 2014). According to the declarations, the people elect a government to enable them preserve the given rights and secure them. Whenever a government doesn’t fulfil this function, then the people who elected the government reserve the right to remove the government from power and elect other representatives. The women in the convention agreed that the government had already failed to perform the function and had allowed the man to oppress the woman. They argued that the woman was denied fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to education and the freedom of worship, (Winegarten, & McArthur, 2015). Their cry was that the society had given man the superior position which forced the woman to obey and submit without question. The woman had been denied her right and ability to work or earn and the right to elect representatives. The women declared that men and women are equal, and they deserve equal treatment and rights.
Since 1848, a significant number of the sentiments have been achieved to a great length not only in the U.S. but also across the globe with only few countries that still suppress women rights openly. For example, women have been allowed their rights to education, elective franchise, employment, dressing, opinion and the freedoms of worship and movement, (Winegarten, & McArthur, 2015). A woman is no longer required by the society to submit to her husband or to the laws of any kind without question only by choice. The woman is no longer required to perform or maintain the requirements of the cult of true womanhood and other societal rules that subjected her to oppression. However, a few things still persist within the society that denies the woman some rights and freedoms. Some of the things include the leadership of the church except for a few protestant churches. The woman is still subjected to different moral requirements that may not be inscribed in laws but persist within the society mindset. The woman serves a subordinate role within the family where a general view of the public is that the man is the head of the family. Even worse the woman is still viewed as fragile and with the most important role of procreation as Darwinism still persists in the society’s mindset.
References:
Tetrault, L. (2014). The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898. UNC Press Books.
Winegarten, R., & McArthur, J. N. (Eds.). (2015). Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas.
