March is Women’s History Month, a time that we remember the strong women who have overcome prejudice and sexism throughout the years.
We praise the contributions women have made and continue to make that have given them the opportunities they have today.
In 1981 Congress passed Public Law 97-28, which declared the first week of March as Women’s History Week. Six years later, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress declared the month of March as Women’s History Month.
During Women’s History Month we recognize compelling women such as Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross; Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly by herself across the Atlantic Ocean nonstop; Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman physician in the United States, and the first women to earn a medical degree; and Susan B. Anthony, a central figure in securing women the right to vote.
Not only do women have the right to vote today, but also former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton hopes to become the first woman president in November.
Clinton led the U.S. delegation to Beijing to attend the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. She gave a speech where she said “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”
The fact that there may be a woman serving as President of the United States says a lot about how far women have come. For the first time in history, a woman may have the highest power, with the ability to make executive decisions that affect the entire nation.
During a time when women were not allowed to own the land they had with their husband and men controlled of a woman’s real estate and wages, women were nothing without men.
It was a man’s world, but it’s not anymore thanks to the groundbreaking achievements women have accomplished throughout history.
Women’s History Month is mainly about recognizing what women had to do in order to achieve that equality.
And it’s only up from here for women in this country.
