Women's rights throghout History

ARSLAN ARNAUTOVIĆ
Faculty of Economics and Social Studies, Bosnia and Herzegovina
International Relations and European Studies
History of World Politics

January, 2020

arslan.arnautovic@stu.ibu.edu.ba
Introduction

In the introductory part, we will focus primarily on the history and chronology of women's
rights and the position of women in society, as well as the diversity in several civilizations.
Ancient History
In ancient history, for example, women could own, sell, and buy property, but in spite of this,
their husbands could divorce them without any reason and remarry. However, the old
Babylonian laws allowed the husband to divorce, but in that case he had to pay some
compensation, and vice versa.
The same custom as in Sumeran continued in Egyptian society, where women were completely
equated with men before the law. Certainly the credit goes to Queen Cleopatra, who is probably
also the most famous ruler of ancient Egypt. Aristotle, for example, argued that women bring
discomfort and clutter into society, and therefore must be separated from the men's world to
take care of home and household chores. Spartan women had an interesting status, as they were
considered "mothers of Spartan warriors." Due to the frequent war circumstances and the deaths
of their husbands, they inherited land and estates, which made them the richest inhabitants of
Sparta. This controversial theory that wars bring greater rights to women will also be mentioned
in subsequent sections of the paper.
Roman law had very similar provisions in Greek when it came to women's rights, where the
system was also tailored to the "man's measure." The considerable liberalization of these
provisions was brought about by probably the most famous Roman ruler, Gaius of Julius
Caesar, which could mean that Queen Cleopatra had an influence on him.
Religious Books
Both before and during the biblical era, women's rights were subject to certain restrictions,
despite the fact that the Bible states that women have the right to buy, sell, own property, go to
court on their own, etc. On the other hand, reforms in Islam have allowed women divorce, right
to inheritance. For example, the Quran, after its publication, gave women much greater rights
than they did in the Arab world before Islam, moreover, greater rights than in medieval Europe.
Medieval Europe
Through the reforms, the Catholic Church was forced, in a way, to preserve its reputation and
to some extent protect the rights and position of women. On the other hand, the Church of
England considered women to be weak, irrational and vulnerable, and therefore gave greater
authority to the husband, who was conceived as a "protector" of the woman from danger.
Some laws in the Middle Ages were designed to protect a woman from her husband's authority
by transferring authority to her male relatives. This was the case in Swedish law, while, for
example, Irish, Welsh and French laws were completely discriminatory, since there were
interesting cases such as:
1. Irish Law - A woman must not be a witness in court
2. Welsh Law - A woman can only testify against a woman, not a man
3. French law - a woman's testimony is accepted only if it coincides with other testimonies.
Without their will, women have often been used throughout history to marry, which secured
covenants, reconciliations between warring parties, etc.
Modern history
Especially in the areas of present-day Germany and Austria, famous "witch executions" were
present, most of them women. However, it would be argued that marriage was a central factor
that influenced the increase or decrease of women's rights. In his book, The Oxford
Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Bonnie G. Smith states that by 1500 CE, Europe
was divided into two types of secular laws, with one being present in the northern parts and the
other in southern and mediterranean regions. This (secular laws) did advance women's rights,
but not to a considerable extent. Only the reform movements in the 16th century allowed women
greater rights, most notably in the form of freedom of speech, and the most prominent persons
of that era were: Aemilia Lanyer, Jane Anger, both English writers. But this did not remove the
traditional patriarchy and the higher position of a man over a woman.
Enlightement
With the era of industrialization, an era of enlightenment came, bringing nationalist movements
across Europe. As these movements entailed movements that required a number of changes,
specifically regarding freedom of religion, the prohibition of slavery, so did women's rights that
they had gained so far.
In 1754, Dorothea Erxleben became the first doctor of medicine in Germany. The French
Revolution also had impact on women's rights movement, especially with The Declaration of
the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen, modelled by the similar men's declaration, which
was made in 1789.
Furthermore, in Great Britain, for example, women's voting rights were prohibited by the
Reform Act in 1832.
In 1848, the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, was signed by 68 women and 32 men. The
principal author of the Declaration was Elizabeth Gady Stanton, who modeled it upon the
United States Declaration of Independence. The document was (and is) considered as the „grand
movement for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women.“
20th Century
The International Council of Women was a prominent organization, founded in 1888, but the
greatest influence of the organization was in 20th Century, especially in the 20s, where ICW
worked with the League of Nations. The organization is present nowadays too. Modern feminist
movements fought for laws for equality, for example in United Kingdom or in the United States.
Laws for full equality were voted in the mid-20th Century mostly.
Communist countries also introduced women's voting rights and rights to be elected.
In the 1946, the United Nations established a Commision on the Status of Women, where
international forums were created for discussing women's rights. But, the 2019 report from the
World Bank found that women have full legal rights to men in only six countries: Belgium,
Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden.
Effect of the Women's and Feminist Movements on Women's Rights

Throughout history, if we were to take a general assessment of women's rights and the very
position of women in society, somehow the period during and after the 19th century, to this
day, is seen as the most revolutionary in this sense. It was then that the movements took hold,
especially after 1848. The Age of Enlightenment, coupled with the era of industrialization,
brought considerable progress in improving the position of women in society.
Myra Marx Ferree and Carol McClurg Mueller argue that feminist movements are not a "new
thing", and that a link can be found between modern feminist movements and those of the
women's rights movement of the 1800s. They further state that the feminist movement has had
a strong influence, and stands out for being: international, historically long present. Women's
movements have long been present and successful and have contributed to many changes to the
law, and as such can be considered as the main drivers of change in the women's world. Along
with liberalization and democratization, these movements have strengthened and contributed to
the advancement of women's rights around the world. But we must first start by defining
feminism itself, which is not at all easy. Some feminists believe that feminism is a simultaneous
struggle against the subjugation of a woman to a man, and a fight for equality, both on paper
and in practice. Throughout history, the fight for women's rights has been reflected, for
example, through revolutionary movements, such as the October Revolution, or may also be
linked to communist movements in the world. For example, in the former Yugoslavia, women
were granted the right to vote and to be elected for the first time while the Communist Party of
Yugoslavia was in power. This has resulted in women being elected to party leaderships, where
Savka Dapcevic is one of the most famous examples. During World War II, the AFZ
(Antifascist Front for Women) was established in Yugoslavia, which contributed to the
influence of women in both the wartime and post-war Yugoslav society.
As Ferree and Mueller further state in their work, women's movements are ubiquitous in
contemporary societies. Worldwide, women are mobilized in the form of movements against
authoritative authority (Women of Disappearing in Argentina and El Salvador), followed by
women's movements demanding peace (Women in Black, Serbia / BiH).
So this piece of information clearly shows us that women's movements are not necessarily
focused on the fight for women's rights, but also on other socio-political issues, such as the
Mother of East Los Angeles. There are, of course, radical examples, such as Women's Light in
Russia, which fight alcohol abuse and foster women's political participation with an explicitly
feminist rhetoric.
Today, feminist movements are hit by certain currents, such as anti-feminist movements, which
accuse them of requiring the subordination of a man to a woman.
Contemporary collective actions taken by women are rooted in structures of opportunity that
are part of the products of women's past organizing efforts. The conclusion reached by Ferree
and Mueller is reflected at most in several important points. As they claim, formal and informal
political occasions, organizational structures and strategies carry gender meanings that have
often been disregarded by purportedly general theories that have in practice studied men.
Women's and feminist movements are making genders salient, or conversely, denying or
affirming that gender dynamics are part of institutional structures.
Social movement theories are also thought to suggest a more dynamic, long-term and less state-
centered approach to power, protest, and change instead of gender relations into account from
outset.
Thus, it can be said that women's movements are international and cannot be confined to one
country, and that the actions of these movements have taken place beyond the borders of one
country, making them regional or global.
Throughout their thesis, there is a clear message that women's movements should not be
confused with feminist movements, but this has been known to happen throughout history, and
still is today.
Feminist and women's movements at the center of social movement theories may be considered
essential or essential correctives, and feminist and women's movements were one of the
"striking fists" in social change, especially in the 20th century, which laid the foundation for
today's modern society.
Their definition implies that women's movements are to be found on both the left and the right,
because women were „mobilized“ as a constituency for some goals (e.g., nationalism, moral
reforms, etc.)
Of course, not all women's movements by their definition will adopt feminist goals of any sort
at any time, as it's said couple of times in this paper.
The final conclusion of their stance is that issues around modernization, democratization, and
gender privilege are animating many of the social movements that are of most concern today,
the centering of gender analysis in a long-term, historically grounded understanding of social
movements , states and societal change is more pressing and potentially fruitful than ever.
Effect of Wartime on Improvement of Women Rights

In this section, I will elaborate on a somewhat more controversial theory that, to improve
women's rights and the status of women in society, the most deserving of the wars that have
been waged, and that through their engagement, women have contributed to improving their
status.
Thus, the thesis is that women's movements were not a key factor, but women as individuals,
women as workers in factories, women who left the role of housewives.
In this section, I address the analysis of Birgitte Bader-Zaar.
Let's go back to the First World War period. The Great War, as it was then known, brought
many men to the battlefield, leaving the factories empty as workers had to take their rifles. The
fields remained untreated, leaving only women, children and the elderly at home. As the war
flared up, so did the war industry soar, and thus, the industry could not suffer. Large-scale
production, in particular weapons, ammunition, uniforms and even vehicles, was necessary to
continue.
Given that the elderly were powerless, just like children, women were the only option left,
which meant moving from housewives to factory workers and farm workers.
The general conclusion reached by the author in her work is that the war served as a catalyst
for women's political emancipation, putting the women's issue on the political agenda,
especially during electoral reform, with regard to voting in elections.
Of course, it didn't take a big hit everywhere. For the most part in Western Europe and the
United States, this merit of women during the war has turned into a kind of "reward" after the
end of the war, as it is through women's engagement that the longstanding theory that women
nw can exercise political rights is broken since they cannot bear arms and fight se. This
engagement was, therefore, crucial to improving women's rights, because this "physical force"
argument was finally broken in some parts of the world. Wartime rhetoric had deradicalized
women's enfranchisement.
It was during this period after WW1 that it influenced many politicians. Thus, British Prime
Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, like many politicians across Europe and North America,
advocated that "women fought their labor during the war for their" salvation ", but also called
for the reconstruction of" social order "after the war, and stressed that "women should have the
right and opportunity to have their voice heard directly," as the new arrangements require.
This can be linked and taken into account when thinking about our region, for example, but
during WWII, when women's participation and fighting in the war, and the formed AFG, which
I spoke about in the previous sections of this paper, made significant contributions and paved
the way for improvement the position of women in communist Yugoslavia after the end of the
war, since the Communist Party of Yugoslavia allowed women the right to vote in 1946.
But let's return to the previous part, more specifically, the period between the two world wars.
As the author states, this myth of the "women's block" did not materialize significantly.
Moreover, women were successfully removed from the real and real political power of the
legislative bodies. Feminists were faced with the dilemma and ambiguity of how to proceed,
given that they were given the right to vote, the right to choose, and therefore "had no right to
complain", but were also aware that they had been put in a position of "fictitious power" at
paper, while in reality they were not given the opportunity to enter a fight with their male
counterparts and the political power of the ruling elite.
Now their argument has become much more "distinctive", and more and more feminists have
pushed the idea of full equality with men, looking at that equality as the only way for women
to exercise sovereignty and finally achieve full citizenship.
Let's refer once again to wartime efforts of the women and the results which occured.
After the First World War, many new countries created in Europe introduced laws that "equalize
gender". In essence, women were becoming more equal in politics (with an emphasis on more
equal, not fully equal) but also in other aspects of daily life. The breakdown of gender barriers
in various jobs and branches of the economy has become more and more frequent, thus opening
up space for the advancement and development of women's movements in some way.
But even that did not completely eliminate the problems. Women were now facing a new threat,
which is primarily the underpayment of jobs they did. Men had higher incomes than women,
and the unions that existed at the time did not properly represent female workers. It can be said
that the states then and in some way wanted a return to the pre-war situation, to the pre-war
order in society.
But the very rapid arrival of World War II again hampered the normal functioning of the
political system and society as a whole, which met with a new major war, and women again
emphasized their role through industry and a new round of evidence in the war period. This, in
a way, encouraged even greater liberalization of the law, and so of women's rights, on both
sides of the "Iron Curtain", both in the Western bloc and in the communist one.
My thought and analysis, defending the opinion

Basically, I would rate and give the best explanation on this topic - agreeing in part on both
sides.
Therefore, the author's second part theory is correct in large part because women's engagement
in wars was exceptional, and it is precisely through this prism of war engagement that their
position after each of the wars can be observed.
But the question arises, how were the rights granted to women after the end of these wars as a
"reward for their hard work and work in the war" established? Therefore, it was necessary for
certain women's and feminist movements to be engaged through the ideas they represented in
the periods before and between the great wars, and these ideas were turned into reality - because
of the engagement of women in war, ie war merit.
In some ways, the Declaration of 1848, mentioned in earlier sections of this paper, can be taken
into account, as well as petitions that have been largely unsuccessfully circulated in Congress
to enfranchise women.
The set of progressive ideas and advocacy worked by the feminist and women's movements of
the time (plural) struck the groundwork for changing legislation between the two world wars,
and as the aforementioned British prime minister said, "introducing a new order."
But the work and activities of women's movements, such as suffrage movements, did not stop
after World War I. They just pointed out the merits of war as a very important argument for
enfranchising women. During this period, for example, there were women's organizations in
the US, such as the National Woman's Party (NWP) or the National American Woman Suffrage
Association (NAWSA), which launched campaigns selectively across states. Simultaneously,
this led to the passage in Congress of a constitutional amendment on woman suffrage.
Therefore, the merit can be attributed to the "combination" between women individuals
who worked for the needs of the "war machine" and women's social organizations, which
promoted the work itself, and called for changes to legal legislation.
This is precisely what is quoted in "The Woman Suffrage Movement, The Most Significant
Achievement of Women in the Progressive Era," published at www.womenshistory.org.
We can also point out a thought that goes some way towards this, which is that the improvement
of the position of women has been influenced by women's socio-political movements over
certain periods of time and in certain significant historical events.
Also, the National Women's History Alliance report shows timelines for significant changes in
women's political and human rights.
For example, in 1938, a minimum wage was established in the United States, regardless of
gender. In 1947, women were equated with men in the courts. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was
ensured, which guaranteed American women equal pay against men. In 1965, the ban on the
use of contraceptives by married couples was lifted. In 1973, the US Supreme Court protected
the human right to terminate an early pregnancy.
What is interesting is how these "historical laws" were enacted during or after some
significant historical event, such as World War I, then World War II, Korean War,
Vietnam War, etc.
This further reinforces the theory that certain events and women's merits contributed to
these changes, but with the ideological direction and the so-called. "striking fist" by
women's and feminist movements.
Conclusion

While writing this paper, I focused most on working on several parts. The first part was just
about learning about the history of women's rights, starting with ancient civilizations, the
medieval kingdoms, where I touched on the influence of religious organizations and religious
books on women's rights to some extent. Basically, the short history is explained in as short a
manner as possible, that is, from the ancient period to the modern age, the period between the
two world wars and today.
In the second part of the paper, the focus is on the conflict of two ideas, which were
independently set up and analyzed. The first idea, that is, by Ferree and Mueller, argues that
feminist and women's movements, extremely ideologically shaped, have triggered a wave of
change and improvement in the position of women in society and politics. While, on the other
hand, other work, extremely controversial, says that certain historical events, such as wars
(world), have influenced the improvement of the position of women, that is, by changing men
in factories, that is, in the civil sector, women have proven that they can be equal and that they
deserve to be equal.
In fact, in the second part, a conflict of opinion arises because the first idea promotes the
importance of women's movements and, in the second idea, the importance of women as
individuals.
However, in the third part, I came to the conclusion that both ideas are largely acceptable and
correct, since they cannot do without one another. What I want to say is that women without
merit (working in factories) could not argue in favor of equality theses, and women workers
also needed the ideological direction that women's and feminist movements had given them,
especially suffrage movements.
So, I would conclude my thought that women's social movements are equally deserving, but
women as individuals, workers, and bearers of the "war machine" are equally deserving.
Literature

The main part, conflict of the two ideas:

1. Feminism and the Women's Movement: A Global Perspective, Myra Marx Ferree &
Carol McCluig Mueller, The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, 2004, p 576-
607;
2. Controversy: War-related Changes in Gender Relations: The Issue of Women's
Citizenship, Brigitta Bader Zaar, University of Vienna, January 2017;
Introduction part:
1. Women in England in the Middle Ages, Ward, Jennifer, 2006, p. 3-4;
2. Women in Dark Age and Early Medieval Europe, Jewell, Helen M, 2007, p. 37-39;
3. Žene kroz povijest (Zbornik radova), Zagreb 2004;
4. Declaration of Sentiments, 1848., Elizabeth Cady Stanton;
The third part, defense of opinion:
1. The Woman Suffrage Movement, The Most Significant Achievement of Women in the
Progressive Era, www.womensrights.org;
2. Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States, National Women's History
Alliance, 2013;