Throughout history, women have been limited to certain jobs and education whereas the male has been able to do whatever he feels, with some money exceptions. Society consisted of the different classes that separated people socially. There was the first-class (known as the rich families), the middle-class, and the third-class (usually known as the less fortunate families who have very little). In each class, the situation that the woman was put through; was similar. Women were not considered “persons”, they were merely housewives and mothers that stayed home and cared for their kin. Each day was the same, with no surprises.
Decades ago, women were expected to do certain things and to stay away from other things, they had their restrictions. As the women became more aware of their current status, outrage began to build, but the only way they could make their voices heard was to take drastic actions. First of the matters was the voting issue. Every four years or so, men would fill out a ballad, stating their choice of a leader for their country that would rule until the next election. At that time period, females in other countries already obtained the right to vote, but the Canadian women were absolutely prevented from allowing their political opinion show on a ballad.
In some regions of Canada, Icelandic families who had emigrated from Iceland were surprised to find that they were not allowed to vote, whereas in the home country, they had the right to take part in an election. During their life in Iceland, they were permitted to own property and to vote in each election. Women arriving in Canada felt strongly about their constitutional rights and wanted to enforce the same rights that they had in their past land.
“Many suffragists were also temperance crusaders who saw the vote as a means of ensuring that prohibition laws were passed,” from timelinks.merlin.mb.ca. Voting is a small way that a citizen contributes to make their opinion worth something. Each vote counts in an election, and can significantly change a result. In Canada, the situation was different, only the male population was offered the chance to make a difference in the political campaigns (and only men were allowed in the running).
In the early 1900s, it was an important time for suffragists (representatives or advocates that support and defend the voting rights, in this case, it would be for women) to make their ideas and thoughts known. A majority of the suffragists had strong opinions on the suffrage and if women could not have a fair say in politics, then it is surely unjust. When high authority men heard that women wanted a chance to vote and a position in the political world, they merely laughed and thought it was a joke. If women were to enter politics, it was thought that they would interfere with the meetings and such. One man thought that women are too emotional, so they would not be able to withstand the cruel reality politics.
Women protested against the men to earn their right to vote for their government leader. Men fought back by staging arguments and preventing women from interaction with political professionals. The idea of women going into the political world was just absurd to the men, and it would bring about too many problems; one being the time loss from caring for children. If women were to enter the working world, men would have to give up some of their time to cook, clean, and care for the children, something men did not want to do.
“For Canadian women, the war meant rationing, shouldering new responsibilities, and facing hardships and sacrifices alone. In addition to their household duties, both rural and urban women undertook a variety of new tasks. During the war over 100 000 women moved in traditionally male jobs. Women were paid about half the salary of men. It was clearly understood that they would return to their former roles, primarily in the home, after the war.”
In the second global war, the world was in ruins. Men were taken from their homes to fight for what they thought was peace. Even women were pulled from their homemaker life to lend a helping hand in the war. Women were to mend the clothes, cook for the soldiers, and helping medical professors. When the war was over, women went back to sewing, cooking, and cleaning for their husbands. The only time that they were aloud to do male dominated jobs, was when the country was at war. As the war ended, and life carried on, the female population found that their life was boring and predictable and unfair.
The first action that women took was fighting for their right to vote. In the constitution of human rights, men were permitted to vote, but women were not. Women suffrage has occurred since the early ages, where women were identified as “weak” and “petty”. By gaining the right to vote, women would have the feeling of pride and justice for they would have at least some participation in the legislative assembly. After long periods of discussions and disagreements, women finally won the right to vote, with the help from some women that are well-known today. The date in which voting for women was allowed, varied from province to province, and only included some women.
The following provinces made it legal for women to vote in...
Manitoba - January 28, 1916
Saskatchewan - March 14, 1916
Alberta - April 19, 1916
British Columbia - April 5, 1917
Ontario - April 12, 1917
Nova Scotia - April 26, 1918
New Brunswick - April 17, 1919
Prince Edward Island - May 3, 1922
Newfoundland - April 13, 1925
Québec - April 25, 1940
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