22.654 NEEDED
Women
stood up for equality for the past hundreds of years. Their ‘movement’ dates
back to the 19th century when a mistress’s efforts led to the
abolition of couverture – a term described as “a legal doctrine whereby, upon
marriage, a woman's legal rights and obligations were subsumed by those of her
husband”.
We are
now in 2016. Women equality is still
a taboo subject. Women still don’t
have equal rights.
In 1923
Alice Paul first introduced The Equal Rights Amendment. This states the
following: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any state on account of gender”. The amendment points
out that “all citizens deserve equal rights under the law regardless of
gender”. These being stated, women’s equal rights should be guaranteed by
constitution. Still, they aren’t.
The
case of American women is a happy one. They have a lot of options and they are
free. But what about the rest of the world? For instance, many women are
mistreated if they dare to disagree with males or with authorities.
The
problem is that The Constitution does not give women equal rights, explicitly.
Only The Equal Rights Amendment does,
but it never passed, it was never ratified.
Statistics
claim that “white women make .78 cents compared to their white male
counterparts”. A public figure, actress Patricia Arquette, stands up for this
long debated cause. The elections are close. The subject must be raised and the
voices of the women have to be heard. Women’s rights deserve to be respected
and taken into consideration.
Kamala
Lopez is working as the director of a documentary regarding the matter of women
equality: “Equal Means Equal”. Patricia Arquette decided to support her in this
movement and make the world aware of the fact that equality does not exist.
The
persons we are talking about are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. Do not
let gender equality be just a dream. Make it real!
Once
and for all:
#EqualMeansEqual!
