Equal Rigths Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Equal Rigths Amendment - Essay Example Gender based discrimination could also be observed in other social aspects. It was also seen screaming on the political front where women weren’t allowed to cast a vote and participate in the formulation of a democratic government. In the mid-nineteenth century, feminists(Gill)were the first to start the movement for the abolition of inequality from society. In this regard first planned meeting was arranged by the Women’s Rights Convention under the supervision of Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Lucretia Mott in Seneca Falls(Neale). This meeting was 2 days long and approximately 300 men and women participated.During the course of discussions, Alice Paul introduced the Equal Rights Amendment as(Francis): â€Å"If we keep on this way they will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1848 convention without being much further advanced in equal rights than we are†¦. If we had not concentrated on the Federal Amendment we should be working today for suffrage†¦. We shall not be safe until the principle of equal rights is written into the framework of our government.† The purpose of this meeting was to raise a voice against injustice suffered by women in the male oriented society, which mercilessly made them a victim of ridicule and disrespect. Congress was later informed about the meeting and a request was put forward that asked for the ratification of equal rights for both men and women, and inclusion of this clause in the constitution. This effort received strong opposition from men, as well as a few women, who were against the notion of women standing at equal footing with men. In fourteenth amendment of the constitution, congress appalled all the workers of feminist movement by paying heed to their endless requests and introducing the equality clause in the constitution. According to the amendment, all the citizens of U.S have the equal rights. The word â€Å"male† was introduced for the first time in the constitution while ta lking about the electorate rights that still granted the voting ability to only the men of the country. Susan did not accept the exemption of women from the right to vote and therefore went to cast vote in presidential elections. As a result of this act, she was fine, arrested and convicted with this apparent crime. When this case was taken to the Supreme Court, it was decided that although women were very much citizens of the country, it was not necessary for every citizen to have the right to vote. Fourteenth amendment could not suppress this effort and the campaign for human rights continued for many years thereafter. Stanton, Susan, and Sojourner also fought to abolish slavery and demanded equal rights for the slaves. Stanton and Frederick made many impassioned speeches, urging the authorities to grant females the right to cast a vote in their country. This resulted in the Amendment of suffrage which was introduced in the constitution and supported women’s right to vote. Just after three years of the ratification of suffrage amendment, National Women’s Party forwarded an equal rights amendment to the Congress, which was ratified for years in every part of the country since 1923. This document has passed through different phases and was amended a number of times and finally got placed in the national constitution in much modified form. It was incorporated officially into the