Women's Rights Movement

The women's rights movement has always been about empowering women to have equal freedom, opportunities, and rights as men. Nevertheless, the main goals of the movement have changed over the years, as governments and societies have been motivated to grant women liberties equal to men in many respects.

For centuries, women in many cultures around the world, but particularly in Western culture, were viewed as inferior to men. Commonly, women were a property not unlike slaves or livestock. In the majority of cultures, women had no right to participate in politics or governance, no property rights, and no rights to autonomy. Their husbands, fathers, or brothers were in charge of their well-being, and could dictate their every action, from marriage to how many children they would have. It was not until the late 18th century that the women's rights movement was born, as a result of the publication of two milestones in feminist philosophy: the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. These two works, published within a year of each other, advocated equality for women in marriage and education, respectively.

As more and more women were granted human rights, like the freedom to marry whomever they choose, the women's rights movement focused on suffrage in the 19th and 20th centuries. The women's suffrage movement, heavily inspired by the universal suffrage movement, was championed by both male and female philosophers, including John Stuart Mill and Susan B. Anthony. By the end of the First World War, a majority of Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, had granted women the right to vote.

The modern women's rights movement began in the 1960s and became known as feminism. Having tackled the right to vote, women in the feminism movement began to work towards equal rights for the sexes. They demanded equal opportunity in regards to jobs, wages, and education. The sexual revolution also played a role in the feminism movement, as women desired freedom of sexual expression and reproductive rights. Advances in birth control and the legality of abortion in the United States after the verdict of Roe v. Wade empowered women and fueled feminist support.

As society evolves and women gain increased power in politics, new issues are tackled by the women's rights movement. Many feminists today focus on women's portrayal in media and the sexual violence against women as issues that need to be solved. Others challenge customs on surrogate mothers' rights.