Knowra Women's rights Women's rights Women's rights are claims to equal legal, political, economic, and social freedoms for women. They challenge rules and practices that deny women rights available to men.
Mary Wollstonecraft : An English writer whose 1792 book argued that women deserved education and the same rational freedoms as men. Her book made women's education and equality central arguments in early rights advocacy.
Equality before the law : The principle that people should receive equal legal treatment and protection without unjustified distinctions. Women's rights campaigns use it to challenge laws that explicitly treat women differently.
Women's suffrage : The movement to secure women's right to vote in elections. Winning the vote made women participants in formal political decision-making.
Coverture : A historical legal doctrine under which a married woman's legal identity and many rights were subsumed under her husband's. It exemplifies the legal subordination that women's rights movements sought to dismantle.
Seneca Falls Convention : A 1848 gathering in New York that issued the Declaration of Sentiments and organized for women's rights. Its declaration adapted the language of the U.S. founding documents to demand women's equality.
Universal suffrage : The extension of voting rights to all adult citizens, subject to a jurisdiction's rules and qualifications. Women's voting rights are a central part of the struggle for political equality.
Equal pay for equal work : The principle that workers should receive equal compensation for work of equal value, without discrimination based on sex. Pay equality addresses economic discrimination in employment.
Patriarchy : A social system in which men hold disproportionate power in political, economic, and family institutions. Women's rights challenge the institutions and norms through which patriarchal power is maintained.
Declaration of Sentiments : A 1848 statement asserting women's equality and listing grievances, including exclusion from voting and property rights. It gave the Seneca Falls movement a detailed public case for equal rights.
Reproductive rights : Rights concerning decisions about reproduction, including access to contraception, abortion, and maternal health care. Control over reproduction affects women's autonomy, health, and equal participation.
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