Many Canadian women in the twentieth century took their given human rights for granted, and little did they know that just merely 50 years ago, women had to fight for their rights on freedom to abort a child and equal wages on identical vocations. Before the Women’s Movement began, women have been considered to have the submissive, secondary role. Women’s Rights have seen drastic changes as women realized their potential to do everything men can do. Canadians have fought determinedly for their changed views on women’s rights during the Feminist Movement on subjects such as legalizing abortion, decriminalizing birth control education and usage, and also through establishing the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.
Abortion has been considered a controversial subject all throughout Canadian History because of the exceptional change in views towards the subject throughout the years; from believing every child should be wanted and nurtured, to believing every woman should have the right to plan when and how many children to have. According to the Canadian Criminal Code of 1892, proclaiming a miscarriage was life imprisonment and women were liable for 7 years in prison that obtained a miscarriage through drugs or abortion. However, by the 1960s, between 35 thousand to 120 thousand Canadians were getting illegal and often dangerous abortions each year. As views on abortion changed, Canadians like Dr. Henry Morgentaler and the feminist group The Vancouver Women took action and demonstrated their beliefs of what every woman deserves, other Canadians took action by raising awareness for the prominent issue through the usage of media. After PM Pierre Trudeau passed the Omnibus Bill on May 9 1969, which allowed abortion only if keepin...
... middle of paper ...
... (National Action Committee on the Status of Women) to lobby the government into enacting the recommendations. Following its creation, the women’s movement “expanded enormously both in the number of women’s organizations it included and in the range of issues”, such as violence against women. By 1980s, most of the 176 recommendations were partially or fully put to action and 46 women’s centers, 36 service oriented organizations, 15 transition centers, 12 rape centers were created. In conclusion, the women of Canada significantly changed the rights of Canadians through demonstrating for, participating in, and lobbying the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. By making the personal political, present day Canadian women were able to take their high quality life because of the actions took by countless of women during Second Wave Feminism.
In Canada, women make up slightly more than half of the population. However, throughout Canadian history and modern day, women are needing to stand up for themselves and other women to bring about change. Canadian women are strong and have the power to work together and bring about change. Jennie Trout stood up for Canadian women that wanted to be in the medical field, women during WWI made a difference in their lives by entering the workplace and standing for their right to work, Nellie McClung was a leader for women’s suffrage, and The Famous Five campaigned and won The “Persons” Case allowing women to be considered persons under the Canadian Constitution. These women were instigators of change. Change for women only occurs when ambitious and courageous women stand up for a difference that they deserve.
This shift effectively illustrates a trend toward a more community-based approach to care, and with an aging population it is becoming increasingly clearer to reformers that an institutional approach to health care is not something we can afford. This shift has furthermore caused many hospitals to downsize, and between 1994 and 1996, 85 percent of Canadians hospitals reduced their workforce by 10 percent. Professor Armstrong argues that this tendential shift perpetuates conditions that limit a woman’s access to care. Using the case of Pembroke Civic Hospital and Lowe v. Health Services Restructuring Commission (1997), Professor Armstrong attempts to illustrate just that. Wherein, the closure of Pembroke Civic Hospital was argued to restrict access to health services pertaining to sexuality, reproduction, and abortion. The reason being that these services would be left to the Catholic Hospital, which by religious code would have an obvious bias towards the provision of said services. Ultimately, however the Court rejected the argument due to a physician’s testimony of never experiencing any interference in carrying out his medical responsibilities, and the fact that neither hospital provided abortion as a service in the last 14 years. Consequentially, the Court’s rejection of this claim does not serve to
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.
The Queen vs. Davis case concerns the murder trial of Arthur Paul Davis and Alice Davis that occurred in 1875. In it, they were tried and convicted of murder for conducting an abortion; the killing of a fetus and subsequently causing death of the victims, Catherine Laing and Jane Vaughn Gilmour. This essay will examine the historical context of the case, what the trial reveals about the nature of women’s lives in Toronto during the 1870s as subordinate women who are deemed as caretakers and how women managed to end unwanted pregnancies. During the late 19th century ending an unwanted pregnancy was an illegal offence because it was considered unethical to kill a fetus. Women were not able to access safer alternatives such as contraception, as it was an offence to sell or advertise them at that time. Women did not claim they wanted an abortion directly, but rather that they wanted to be fixed of their problem. They did not feel guilty as they thought it was acceptable to induce abortion before the 3rd month of pregnancy or quickening of it, which under the English common law, it was not wrongful to procure an abortion prior to the feeling any movement of the fetus. Doing an Abortion was a private matter but nonetheless a criminal offence. Beginning in the early 19th century, laws were passed to support the prohibition of abortions; these then continued on to the revision and creation of the 1892 criminal code for abortion.
“Canada emerged from the First World War a proud, victorious nation with newfound standing in the world. It also emerged grieving and divided [and] forever changed by the war’s unprecedented exertions and horrific costs.” Some of the social impacts of World War I on Canada include the fact that during the war as mentioned above, the status of women improved and resistance by men against acknowledging the abilities of women were gradually set aside. Also during the war women participated in many activities that promoted their cause for social, economic and politic equality, such as suffrage. Moreover, political impacts of the First World War on Canada involved, the suffrage political goal finally being won in 1919 when women got the right
Most women in Canada before World War One (WWI) were treated poorly compared to the men. Women were dehumanized and were not looked as any worth or value. During WW1 women’s roles in Canada changes to a great extent. The war influence change in the work force and politics. Women had to take on jobs of the men who went to war to keep the established economic system running. In 1911 before the war 16.6% of the female population of 2,521,000 participated in the labour force. During the war in 1921 the participation rate increased from 418,486 female workers to 563,578. War changed their roles greatly as before women were housewives, they would raise the children and do household chores. Now during the war they were needed as men went overseas
The contentious little book titled Women, Power, Politics maintains politics to be devalued, acknowledging the fact that only few people do vote, and women are unable to achieve within the realm of Canadian politics. Sylvia Bashevkin, the author of the book argues that Canadians have a profound unease with women in positions of political authority, what she calls the "women plus power equals discomfort" equation. She evaluates a range of barriers faced by women who enter politics, including the media's biased role of representing the private lives of women in politics, and she wonders why citizens find politics is underrepresented in Canada compared to Belgium. In clear, accessible terms, Bashevkin explains her ideas on how to eliminate “low voters turn-out,” “devaluation of politics,” "gender schemas," and "media framing.” She outlines some compelling solutions to address the stalemate facing women in Canadian politics which are; contesting media portrayals, changing the rule of the game, improving legislative quotas, electoral reform, movement renewals, and so on. This response paper would addresses the reality of a political mainstream, actions which should be taken against the oppressive elements of reality, and the awareness it brings through economic, social, and political environment.
On July 19th 1848, the first Women's Convention was held in Seneca Falls, from which 68 women and 32 men participated, to discuss Women's rights and equality to men. During the convention, was written the “Declaration of Sentiments”, document that approached the issues to be overcome by women, including their rights regards: voting; social equality; intellectual capacity; equal payment and right to occupy high positions. Today, one hundred and sixty six years after this convention was held, what have women really accomplished in terms of acceptance and support from our government and society? Researches show that women are still under paid in comparison to men in same positions; women are still struggling to occupy higher positions within the companies they work; society is still imposing to women the main part on parenthood without attributing shared responsibilities to men; government is still lacking support regards laws involving maternity leave and equal pay.
To begin, during the 19th and early 20th centuries Canada was industrializing; thus, there was a shift from rural farming to urban industrialism. This meant that women could no longer participate in the family earning, the family act of living off of the fruits of your labour from the farm because men were being moved to the factories were there existed a wage. Women were excluded from this type of employment because there of an ‘ideology of domesticity’ that claimed that “women were to be mothers and housewives and to exhibit piety, purity, domesticity and submissiveness.” There was a belief that if women entere...
Due to the a sentence of working men's, women were suggested to do men’s work, such as making clothes for oversea men, filling bullets and shell bombs with materials, and many more occupations and works that were once the ‘privilege’ only to men. After WWI ended, women were forced to leave their occupation and return back to their life as typical ‘house maids’. This did not only cause the women’s anger and rebellion due to the fact that their jobs were taken away from them, but it also planted seeds deeply within women’s hearts of the consciousness of gender inequality. Before women in Canada had ever taken on jobs before, their lives were all about pleasing their men and baring, caring for their children. Women did not have a life of their own before the famous The Person’s case, led by Emily Murphy, Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Mooney McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edward; however , that is to say after the women in the prairies had granted votes for them. To resume, the newly funded experience for the women due to their new jobs had sparked the courage and anger in them. This can also explain the year of women first received their rights to vote in 1916, barely two years after the outbreak of WWI. While women’s men were away fighting during WWI, votes were given to women during conscription so that the wives could vote in place of their husband.
“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.
For many years in Canada and many other countries abortion has been a topic of debate. In Canada, there has been no legislation regarding abortions since 1988 as the previous laws were said to violate women’s Charter rights under Section 7 which states that Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Due to this, the Supreme Court of Canada considered abortion legislation to be a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since then, no legislations regarding abortion has been changed. Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...
The words of an unborn baby are ones that almost no one ever thinks of, or hears. One of this country's most controversial topics is abortion. However, if one sees the constitutional infringement to women by the restriction of abortion; the torment to the unwanted child; and the anguish society has to sustain, then this topic would not be so debatable. Too many people do not see the effect that abortions cause. It is a very dangerous offence that affects the mother, father, the community, and most importantly, the fetus, and that is why abortion should be illegal in Canada. First, abortion is against God’s law in many Holy books such as the Bible and the Quran. Secondly, abortion does not only affect the individual, but the community as a whole, and the rights of those people are infringed on. However, abortion does nothing in the cases of rape, or women’s rights, which is the constant argument people in favour of abortion argue. And lastly, abortion should be seen for what it is, murder.
As one knows, some unwanted pregnancies could often be harmful and distressing for a woman. Women should have the right over their body to choose to sustain the fetus or not. In the past decades, women did not have their freedom of abortion in many countries of the world. There have always been controversies going on about abortion. Each individual has dissimilar views on the legality of abortion. Some people are against abortion for personal religious purposes and beliefs. For those who don’t believe in abortion, it is because they see it as killing a fetus, which is a human being. Others support abortion because they believe in women’s rights. Laws of abortion vary in each country, and abortion is not legal all over the world. It is illegal under any conditions but only permitted to save woman’s life if in countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland. However, abortion is legal without any restrictions in countries like Canada, Albania, and Italy. It the past decades Abortion was considered as criminal act in Canada. “If an abortion was carried out without such approval, the woman was liable for imprisonment for 2 years, an...