Finally, the Right by Eden Monroe

 

I love to feature strong women in my stories, as I have in Tomorrow at Daybreak.  Although the women in this novel are guided by the social mores of that time (1879), the 1800’s did indeed see a “groundswell of change” by way of organized movements regarding women’s rights.  

❧ Really? No pants? ❧

 

            Strong women have made great strides in achieving many rights and freedoms, such as workplace equality to name but one crucial step forward, but some of those rights are so basic it’s a wonder they were denied in the first place. Some of us may even take for granted freedoms that were unavailable to us not so long ago in terms of world history. On that list, and a mere drop in the bucket when more important accomplishments are considered, was the freedom for women to wear pants in terms of everyday acceptance. As unbelievable as that may sound, it wasn’t until as recently as the 1960’s and 1970’s that that hurdle was cleared, and pants quickly became mainstream fashion.

Now this one I remember. I recall very well when the message came from head office (1970’s) that female employees were being given permission to wear dress pants in the ofice. I was still a teenager and so over the moon with that announcement I went home at lunch hour and found pants that would be considered suitable, although I was pushing the envelope a bit with pale blue brushed denim. There were strict guidelines to this pants-wearing experiment though. The top paired with the pants had to be long enough to fall well below the butt. In other words, a dress over the dress pants. Hilarious! Anyway, I wore a navy-blue mini dress over my pants and away I went back to the office. I remember being so excited because up until then only dresses, or skirts with blouses/sweaters were acceptable.

When one of the older salesmen came into the office after lunch that day and saw me in my new regulation getup, he was so taken aback we thought he was going to pass out. He actually put his hand to his chest and was making sounds like he couldn’t breathe because he was so outraged I would dare come into a public place dressed like that!

 

❧ It’s hard to believe the police were involved ❧

 

Interestingly, the women forbidden to wear pants thing was carried out more strenuously in some parts of the world (funfactfriyay.com):

“… for over 200 years, it was illegal to wear pants in Paris. An antiquated law enacted on November 17, 1800 had forbade women from putting trousers on and then showing said style to the world. While these were a cool form of political protest for men, women had to request police permission to wear trousers. And even then, there needed to be some sort of medical or professional reason…”

Strict female dress codes are still rigidly enforced in various locations globally, and the no pants rule was driven for the most part by religious ideoloy, as are many things.

Historically there have been countless restrictions on women, not just in terms of clothing, and Worldhistory.org offers some fascinating insights into the matter. Interestingly though, during at least one period in history men and women found themselves on equal footing:

“The lives of women in the Middle Ages were determined by the Church and the aristocracy. The medieval church provided the 'big picture' of the meaning of life and one's place while the aristocracy ensured that everyone stayed in their respective places through the feudal system that divided society into three classes: clergy, nobility, and serfs.

“Women's place in the clergy was restricted to the nunnery. Noble women's positions were dictated by how much land they brought to marriage because land equaled power; therefore the quality of life and opportunities for autonomy could vary significantly among the upper class. Women of the lowest class actually had more freedom of expression than the other two because life was uniformly difficult for the serfs – male or female – and women worked alongside men in the fields and in the medieval guilds as equals or near-equals.”

The biggest single breakthrough in terms of women’s rights is without question winning the right to vote. It was an enormous accomplishment in its fullest context, the refusal of it prior to 1920 far more restrictive than it might seem at the outset. Says Historyofrights.ca:

“The process of state formation included the unequal treatment of the nation’s female citizens, which was pervasive and entrenched in law. Women were denied the right to vote and were unable to become legislators, coroners, magistrates, or judges; they were also unable to sit on juries. They lost more than their last name when they married: they lost all status in civil law and could not own property or keep their own wages. In 1905 a Supreme Court judge in New Brunswick, reflecting on the role of women in society, explained that “the paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfil the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.” Yet women were denied custodial rights over children. Also, criminal law was rife with double-standards. In the case of divorce, for instance, men had only to prove adultery whereas women had to prove adultery as well as desertion without reason, extreme cruelty, incest, or bigamy. Marital rape was unknown, not because it never happened but because it was not against the law. Discriminatory laws touched on almost every aspect of women’s lives: birth (infanticide), childhood (maintenance, child custody), work (labour laws, professions), courtship (seduction, marriage), sexual relations (rape, prostitution), marriage (property, citizenship, naming), parenting (maternity leave, abortion, adoption, legitimacy), divorce or separation (maintenance, child custody, pensions, desertion), and death (inheritance).”

We have certainly made significant progress considering that it was only in 1929 that Canada declared women as persons! (“The British Privy Council declared that women are ‘persons’ and could therefore be appointed to the Senate of Canada”). But the march forward continues. Here are some other notable dates in Canadian history with regard to milestones realized for women’s rights:  that all (including indigenous) women were given the right to vote in 1960. “Until the Canada Elections Act was enacted in 1960, First Nations women could not vote unless they had lost or given up their treaty rights or Indian status”); Women’s rights were enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1981, Canadian Human Rights Commission recommends a pay equity system in 2001; First gender-balanced Cabinet in Canadian history was announced in 2015 and in 2022, the endorsement of the National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, which was of course “a significant step towards gender equality”. (Canada.ca)

Women continue to make great strides through hard-fought battles for change, but equity issues still exist today. In some parts of the world women experience crushing discrimination because of profound, systemic gender bias. Much work remains, but importantly, we should value what has been accomplished and recognize what was sacrificed to do so.

❧ Oh no she didn’t? What! ❧

 

                     Looking back, I had occasion as a freelance reporter to interview women working in non-traditional roles, and the stories of some of those women were deeply touching. Like the woman who dreamed of becoming an engineer but as a post-secondary student, found university acceptance greatly restricted in terms of gender at that time. So she became a nurse instead. She lived long enough to become an engineer in the second half of her life, however her role in that capacity was still considered non-traditional in the mid 1990’s in New Brunswick.

                     One young woman I spoke with while conducting interviews for that newspaper special section was very critical of this “Women in Non-traditional Roles” series despite the fact she’d agreed to participate. I’m guessing it was only to set the record straight. She wasted no time informing me that being a woman had not stopped her in any way from realizing her career goals.

                     “I suppose all of those older women are telling you how hard it was for them in the old days,” she said, “but they did not pave the road for me!”

                    

  “No,” I suggested, “in most cases they built the road.”

                     She disagreed of course, although in story after story there were honest accounts of the very real roadblocks women faced on so many levels. But they’d persevered, broken down those barriers and without question made it easier for those who came after them.

                     Lasting change is brought about by those with the strength of character to take action, and persevere. To not acknowledge their courage and celebrate the significance of their accomplishments, is an injustice. Like that young woman who refused to acknowledge the very real educational barriers that once existed and were overcome so that countless others could gain from that success, or me as a young woman who didn’t grasp how incredibly valuable was my right to vote.

                     Here are some interesting and empowering quotes to finish with, compliments of compassroseinternational.org:

“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G. D. Anderson

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker.

 

 

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