March is Women's History Month

When I look back in history, I am flabbergasted at how women were considered to be guarantors of cultural survival who had no place in the political sphere. Women were expected to produce children, care for the home and preserve culture, but the working place, especially politics was no place for them.

It took courage and an exceptional will for women to make the changes that we take for granted today. Take for example, Marion Wallace Dunlop who was the first woman (documented) to go on a hunger strike in order to make a change. It was after her initial decision that word got out and hunger strikes became a part of the suffragettes practice. The Suffragettes were the first women to be part of a campaign to fight for the right for women to vote. They used art, propaganda, vandalism and arson in order to be heard. The hunger strikes were actually taken up in the prisons after they were incarcerated for their acts of crime stated above.

It certainly makes one think about the cost of putting their lives in danger so that future women could reap the benefits of their cause. We still have a long way to go, but when we consider how far we’ve come, we should, in the least, pay homage to the women who pioneered these changes and think about how we can continue to take small acts to continue to improve equality for women.

Jocelyne Pelchat