Women’s History Month
By Kriti Grover, Grade 6
Like most of you know, March is Women's History Month. Women's History Month is really important, and I could make this a really long article with a lot of examples of how women were/are treated unfairly, and how a lot of women took action against the discrimination, but then that would be this really long article that no one would read (even though I would like writing it). So, here is mainly what you need to know about Women's History Month, and why it's so important.
How Women's History Month Came To Be
Women's History Month started as a celebration for the locals in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (in California) Commission on the Status of Women planned a Women's History Week in 1978. In 1980, the president (who at the time was Jimmy Carter) declared that the week of March 8th was to be National Women's History Week. That later transformed into Women's History Month.
Women Who Fought For Equality
Many women fought to be seen as equal to men, and I can't list them all here (that would take a long time!), but here are a few you've probably never heard of and how they helped women be seen as equal.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is the youngest woman and the youngest Latina ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. When she ran for Congress in 2018, no one thought that she would be elected to Congress, but she beat 10-year incumbent Joe Crowley, earning herself a seat in Congress.
Elizabeth Cady Stenton & Lucretia Mott. They organized the first event concerning the unfair way that women were treated in the United States in 1848. The event took place in Seneca Falls, New York, and over 300 people attended, most of them being women. At the second meeting, the attendees signed a document written by Elizabeth and Lucretia called the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances, which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. Over 100 people signed this declaration, and 12 of the resolutions in the Declaration were directed to Women's Rights.
Some Issues Women Still Have To Deal With Today
Even though a lot of action has been taken to make sure that men and women are treated equally, lots of women still have to go through gender discrimination every day. You may not be able to think of ways, but here a few:
Lesser Pay
Biased Education
Women can't travel without a male family member*
Women/girls can't go to school*
Women/girls have to wear covered clothes*
*Not in America
Why Women's History Month Is So Important
Women's History Month is so important because it is a month committed to understanding what women have done in the past to change history. You may ask, why do we need a month dedicated to this? The answer would be because women have done a lot of things to empower other women, and other people in general, but these actions would be otherwise overlooked. Additionally, Women's History Month is important for women that are being treated unfairly every day. They can get inspiration after learning about women who changed unfair rules, laws, and behavior towards women and inspire them to do the same.
Bibliography
https://www.womenshistory.org/
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history