Emily, Murphy, Nellie McClung, and Agnes Macphail Stand for Women's Equality

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Men and women should always be considered equal, and one gender should never feel inferior to another. During the early twentieth century, there were three women who conveyed this message all throughout Canada. Emily Murphy played a significant role to promote the equality between men and women. Similarly, Nellie McClung also took responsibility for encouraging gender equality. Furthermore, Agnes Macphail also acted as a role model and had an important task of demolishing this gender wall. Women were able to reach an aspect of greater equality during the twentieth century, with the help of Emily Murhpy, Nellie McClung and Agnes Macphail.

Emily Murphy played a vital role in helping women reach a level of true equality during the twentieth century. When visiting a prairie farm, Emily Murphy noticed a stressed woman. The woman was stressed because her husband had sold their land and ran off to the United States, leaving the woman homeless. Becoming very determined, Emily Murphy set out to change the law. In 1911, the Dower Act was finally passed in Alberta, which gave women the right to own one-third of their husband’s property.1 Emily Murphy's important decision to help amend the law in a way that it was beneficial to women showcases her determination to make sure women got their rights. Even though the law was not totally fair, it still shows that Emily Murphy took an initiative and helped women reach a step closer to their goal. Before Murphy took this essential action, many women were left homeless, since they had no right over their husband's property, and if she had not done so, many more women would fall victim. Women being able to own property was a significant matter in those days, and this was only made possible with the ...

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...welcomed in the public arena.”9 (Staton, 96). Here, by going against what was thought to be socially acceptable, Macphail displayed herself as a role model again. She proved that women were able to be exactly what men were, so they should not sit back, but instead prove themselves to those who opposed.

In conclusion, women would not have been able to reach a level of true equality, without the assistance and the many contributions of Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung and Agnes Macphail. All three of these women worked tirelessly to give women the rights they deserved. While Emily Murphy created new laws, Nellie McClung opened doors to new career opportunities for women, and Agnes Macphail acted as a role model and guided many women. Women's equality does not refer to women being treated with superiority, but instead, it refers to the equal status of both men and women.

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