The link between the progress of women's rights and economic advancement is substantial. At present, developing countries have a larger disparity in legal rights for women when compared to developed nations. Over time, even wealthy countries have experienced limited rights for women until they achieved considerable economic growth.
According to my argument, both theories - whether the advancement is responsible for the increasing women's rights or if women's rights facilitate development - have some truth. The political economy literature suggests that technological advancements have increased the costs associated with male dominance, thus contributing to the expansion of women's rights. By combining these perspectives, it can be observed that there is a rise in the returns to human capital, which motivates men to support women's rights. This support promotes growth in both human capital and per capita income.
Lizzie completed
...her studies in Graphic Design at both Glasgow School of Art and Rhode Island School of Design. She then moved from Scotland to The Hague to work at Lustlab for several years. In 2012, she became a teacher specializing in Interactive Media Design instruction at the Graphic Design department of Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten. Throughout her career, Lizzie has actively advocated for Women's Political Rights globally.
The concept of Women's Political Rights Around the World originated from the political theories of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and the French Revolution. These ideologies recognized every individual as rational beings entitled to equal fundamental rights. This led to the emergence of liberal feminism or equal rights feminism.
During the French Revolution in 1789, women presented a collection of thirty-three grievances to the Estates General, expressing their demands. This intellectual excitement in France
led to the creation of feminist literature in other countries as well. In England, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792, while Theodore Gottlieb von Hippel released On the Civil Improvement of Women in Germany in 1794. Notably, women were actually prohibited from participating in public life under the French constitution of 1792, and Emperor Napoleon's implementation of the Civil Code of 1804 had a profound impact across Europe. The code effectively deprived married women of their legal rights and ability to divorce, giving control over their property and income to their husbands and relegating them to subordinate domestic roles.
Initially, women's rights progressed unevenly in various regions of the western world. The United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavian nations were at the forefront of this movement. These societies shared common characteristics such as an Anglo-Saxon, Protestant culture and relatively liberal parliamentary political systems. However, even within these societies, women initially had indirect involvement in public affairs. They actively supported men-led moral reform initiatives such as the abolition of slave trade, equality societies, and international peace movements through their participation in Christian groups like Quakers and Unitarians.
In Australia, New Zealand, and the American West, the women's movement was closely linked to the temperance cause. In Britain, temperance played a lesser role but still provided women with practical experience and influenced suffrage campaigns later in the century. Other organized movements emerged. The women's movement in the United States is commonly traced back to the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. In Britain, women's pressure groups began appearing around 1858-59 under the leadership of Barbara Leigh Smith and Bessie Rayner Parkes, known
as 'the Ladies of Langham Place.' Denmark had a Women's Association by 1871, Sweden had an Association for Married Women by 1873, Norway had an Association for the Promotion of Women's Interests by 1884, and Finland had a Women's Association in the same year.
In Britain, on the other hand, domestic politics complicated and delayed women's liberation. Although women had allies among Radical Liberals, they had to adapt to the sudden dominance of Conservatism in the late Victorian period. Over time, the arguments of suffragists began to align with a Conservative perspective, and an increasing number of Conservative MPs supported them. However, this development raised suspicions among Liberal and Labor legislators regarding whether women voters would support the Conservatives and whether a limited measure designed to liberate property-owning women would harm their party's benefits. This perceived threat among female activists and left-wing parties eventually led to the suffragette campaign, which was a distinctive feature of the movement in Britain. However, militancy actually delayed liberation because by rejecting and alienating the labor movement, the Pankhursts deprived their cause of the support of the working class, which would have alarmed the government.
Subsequently, various countries achieved successes in women's suffrage. New Zealand became the pioneer in 1893 by granting women the right to vote. Australia swiftly followed suit when their national government granted women's suffrage in 1902. The movement for women's suffrage had been gaining momentum within Australia's individual states; South Australia initiated it in 1894 and Western Australia joined in 1899. Nonetheless, it was not until 1908 that Victoria ultimately expanded voting rights to include women.
The process of advancing women's suffrage in the United States was relatively lengthy.
Wyoming granted women's suffrage in 1869 and Utah followed suit in 1870. By 1913, eleven western states had also given women the right to vote, but it wasn't until 1919 that women won the national vote. In France, women's rights also progressed during this time. However, both France and Germany faced two significant exceptions among the liberal western states - dictatorship. The social and political conditions complicated the progress of the women's movement in both countries. During the 19th century, the French played a prominent role in establishing feminism as a concept; they are credited with coining the word itself.
While France had a republican political system since 1871, French feminists faced slower progress compared to their counterparts in Britain or America. Unlike women in north-west Europe and North America who gained suffrage before World War I, French women had to wait until 1945 for voting rights. Similarly, German communist feminists also faced similar challenges. In Germany, social factors supported the women's movement but were hindered by a repressive political regime.
In Germany, the Social Democrats gradually incorporated women's causes such as voting rights in 1891 and equal pay in 1896, thanks to the significant Protestant population. By 1913, they had recruited more than 141,000 female members. It is worth noting that while the German Socialists used women as allies in their efforts to reform the Bismarckian political system, they were not genuine feminists. Meanwhile, the feminist movement began to unite globally as women across the Western world found strength in their shared grievances and accomplishments. For instance, when New Zealand achieved voting rights in 1893, suffragists and politicians from that country traveled to Britain to expose
false predictions made by anti-suffragists.
The texts that were central to women's activism gained widespread circulation. One example is J.S. Factory's The Subjection of Women (1869), which was translated into various languages including French, German, Swedish, Danish, Polish, and Italian. Another significant work was A Doll's House, a renowned play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered in Britain in 1889 and sparked ongoing discussions about marriage until the 1890s.
The international women's movement began to take shape in 1888 through the efforts of American activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. They established the International Council of Women, which attracted representatives from all European states by 1900.
In Berlin in 1904, a more radical organization called the International Women's Suffrage Alliance emerged with a specific focus on obtaining women's right to vote and promoting their role in society.
Despite the outbreak of war in August 1914, many women set aside their involvement in women's movements to demonstrate patriotism and support for the national war effort. Even radical feminists viewed the war and pre-1914 arms race as evidence of the foolishness of granting men exclusive political power. Despite objections from governments, these women gathered at the Hague in 1915 to establish the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, aiming to advocate for a negotiated peace settlement rather than complete military victory. Although this objective was not accomplished during the war, it gained momentum after 1918 when opposition grew against both the arms race and Treaty of Versailles.
During this time, the W.I.L.R.F. and other organizations thrived. In Britain, women joined the League of Nations Union in the 1920s. They organized Women's Peace Crusades and Peacemakers Pilgrimages. Additionally,
they disrupted official memorial services during Armistice Weeks by presenting white poppies and placing wreaths made from these poppies at war memorials nationwide. The fight for voting rights and other pursuits quickly ensued.
Peace and demobilization were strategically incorporated into the women's liberation movement between the wars in order to provide a new focus or purpose. In several western countries, women had already been granted the right to vote, making it necessary to find a fresh cause for the movement. Even in nations where emancipation had occurred earlier, activists faced challenges during the post-war period. The underlying problem stemmed from the global economic downturn, resulting in widespread unemployment and fueling opposition to women's demands in many countries.
In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a belief that women should quit their wartime jobs and make way for returning officers, leading to increased workforce segregation. Married women often lost employment due to having husbands as breadwinners. The introduction of "protective legislation" aimed to restrict women from working late hours or with hazardous materials, but it ultimately decreased job prospects for them. These are just some instances of the movement's impact. The movement persisted in its pursuit of gender equality until achieving its present status.
This perception showcases the progression of women's political rights, including the right to vote, the right to run for elections, and the representation of women. It aims to inform and emphasize that women's political rights are expanding worldwide. The map is visually appealing with attractive colors and a well-designed layout highlighting the contrast between "dim" areas with fewer rights and "brighter" regions. Moving the slider from 1892 to present creates an impression of progress across
the globe. Hovering over a country provides additional information, although linking countries to websites for interested readers would improve user experience.
Despite being helpful, the guide has some limitations. The controls lack user-friendliness and the hit identification system is slow and requires enhancement. Moreover, there are instances where the map does not respond adequately to mouse movements. Additionally, the color scheme may cause confusion as certain countries appear in white on the map, indicating unavailable data. However, this information is not readily noticeable solely by observing the map. It would be advantageous to have the capability of simultaneously viewing all conditions like suffrage, right to choose, and fair election.
Currently, it is difficult to establish the connection between these conditions because of the radio button functionality of the buttons. This means that only one condition can be active at a time. To improve clarity, it would be better to convert them into checkboxes and use different colors to show intersections. This would make it easier to determine if, for example, voting rights usually come before the right to be elected.
However, the provided information lacks accuracy sufficient enough to fulfill its purpose. The map indicates that women gained suffrage in the United States in 1920. This likely refers to the ratification of the nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
The Wikipedia search shows that women in California gained the right to vote in 1911, while women in China have been allowed to run for election since 1949 when the People's Republic of China was formed. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether true electoral opportunities exist in China due to Communist Party control. The graphic does not adequately
address these concerns and appears overly confident in its information. Nonetheless, LUSTlab, a Dutch firm, has created a new map for World Women's Day which highlights recent progress and remaining challenges in women's rights globally. This interactive map showcases the dates when countries granted voting and running for election rights to women, except for Western Sahara.
The text highlights the monitoring of different concerns, including labor deaths, domestic abuse laws, and women's representation in government. It is clear that Saudi Arabia performs inadequately across various areas. As a conservative Muslim nation, it stands as the sole country where women are denied voting and candidacy rights. Additionally, they face restrictions on driving and decision-making without male approval. Moreover, there are no legal safeguards against domestic violence or marital rape for women. The author's research has led to some advancements in women's rights.
In a remarkable development, women were granted the right to vote in the 2015 civil elections. Additionally, it was announced in January 2015 that they would soon hold 20 percent of the seats on the advisory Shura Council in Saudi Arabia. However, despite these advancements, the council lacks legislative authority and women continue to face significant social inequalities. Many areas in Saudi Arabia still enforce strict gender segregation, with separate facilities for women and men at restaurants, shopping malls, and university classrooms. In comparison, women are experiencing greater progress in Western Europe and Scandinavia. For instance, Finland has six out of every ten ministers who are female. Similarly, countries like Spain, Norway, Iceland, and Chile have a more balanced representation between genders.
When considering the position of the United States, it leans more towards the Scandinavian side
in terms of gender equality, although the results are still diverse. Only 17 percent of our congress members are women (which might explain why the term "Congress members" hasn't gained popularity), and in 2008, there were 24 women who died during childbirth for every 500,000 births. This number is twice as high as it was in 1990 and considerably higher than our European counterparts. Countries like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Portugal all have childbirth mortality rates below 10.
Elizabeth is remarkable for her incredible dedication to achieving various milestones in women's rights. She stands out among the few women who have actively fought for their rights.
