Friday, March 21, 2003

Women's History month will be over in another 10 days, and I think I can safely say that hardly anyone will notice. The rights that women have in the United States are so taken for granted that people may not realize the scary part: Most of them have been granted only in the last 30 years. The right to hold a job of one's choice, to receive equal pay, to have control over one's possesions, to have a child and not give up employment stature, to obtain a credit card, to be called to jury duty, to not be sexually abused in the workplace, to play organized competitive sports--these and many, many more rights came about because of the Second Wave of feminism.

Unfortunately, there are many in America who do not respect these rights. There is still a wage gap between men and women, and it has been growing again; no one in charge appears to be doing anything to enforce employment laws with regard to gender. Subtle discrimination against women is rampant, and violence against women is as bad as ever. Nevertheless, Women's History Month is a good time to take a look at how really bad things were only a few years ago.

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