Marching Women Paved The Way
Posted: March 15, 2013
Rural Pen
Once again, I learned it was International Women’s Day the day it occurred. Every year, I see it in news headlines and in friends’ social network statuses: Happy International Women’s Day!
Seeing no local events tied to this worldwide celebration — held annually March 8 — I resorted to its website to discover its origins and observations. The page is heralded by a quote from one of the “mothers” of modern feminism, Gloria Steinem:
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
IWD seems to be more popular abroad than here in the U.S. Ireland alone — where my sister has worked as an advocate for women’s rights — lists at least 30 events, including lectures, discussions, art exhibits, plays, readings and more.
In the U.S., many of the events are web-based. One invites visitors to post photos of women in their lives, another photos of women wearing stilettos, which are very high heels (and painful to walk in).
A more widespread U.S. observation in March is Women’s History Month, with events coast-to-coast. Every year at this time, I learn more about the history of the women’s movement from an organization called Feminists for Life.
For instance, on March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, 5,000 women marched in a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., organized by Alice Paul and led by Inez Milholland Boissevain riding a white horse, reports FFL. (The Atlantic, in an online article, puts the marchers at 8,000.) The parade — calling for a constitutional amendment for women’s voting rights — featured nine bands, four mounted brigades, 20 floats and an allegorical performance near the Treasury Building.
Crowds of men surged into the street, making it almost impossible for the thousands of marchers to continue. The women were jeered, tripped, shoved and grabbed.
The police did nothing to protect the peaceful demonstrators, according to FFL. In some cases, officers openly supported the abuse. More than 100 marchers needed to be taken to the hospital, but protesters impeded two ambulances. It took six hours to get the injured to the hospital. The doctor and driver literally had to fight through the crowd.
Finally, the Secretary of War authorized a troop of cavalry from Fort Meyer to control the crowd. Helen Keller was so traumatized by the experience that she was unable to speak at an event later that day, says the FFL article. None of the men who assaulted the suffragists were arrested, but the women marched on.
According to The Atlantic, the mistreatment of the marchers amplified the event and the cause into a major news story and led to congressional hearings, where the D.C. superintendent of police lost his job. What began in 1913 took another seven years to make it through Congress. In 1920, the 19th Amendment secured the vote for women.
Photo captions posted by The Atlantic identify women by their husbands’ names, as was the practice at the time, such as “Mrs. Russell McLennan, Mrs. Lew Bridges and Mrs. Richard Coke Burleson.”
Many years later, in October 1968, I participated in a demonstration for women’s rights at Saxton Avenue High School in Patchogue, N.Y. That day, I wore blue jeans to school. (At the time, denims were only manufactured for men, so they were boys’ jeans.)
With dozens of other girls, I sat in the school lobby and refused to attend classes until the “dresses only” rule was revoked and we were given the right to wear pants to school. The male authorities made their appearance and gave us the OK.
I doubt that girls attending high school in Patchogue today know about that sit-in, but they continue to reap the benefits.
I celebrate the women who braved the streets of Washington, D.C., 100 years ago, and the women who assert their rights in schools, offices and factory floors today.
March on.
Seeing no local events tied to this worldwide celebration — held annually March 8 — I resorted to its website to discover its origins and observations. The page is heralded by a quote from one of the “mothers” of modern feminism, Gloria Steinem:
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
IWD seems to be more popular abroad than here in the U.S. Ireland alone — where my sister has worked as an advocate for women’s rights — lists at least 30 events, including lectures, discussions, art exhibits, plays, readings and more.
In the U.S., many of the events are web-based. One invites visitors to post photos of women in their lives, another photos of women wearing stilettos, which are very high heels (and painful to walk in).
A more widespread U.S. observation in March is Women’s History Month, with events coast-to-coast. Every year at this time, I learn more about the history of the women’s movement from an organization called Feminists for Life.
For instance, on March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, 5,000 women marched in a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., organized by Alice Paul and led by Inez Milholland Boissevain riding a white horse, reports FFL. (The Atlantic, in an online article, puts the marchers at 8,000.) The parade — calling for a constitutional amendment for women’s voting rights — featured nine bands, four mounted brigades, 20 floats and an allegorical performance near the Treasury Building.
Crowds of men surged into the street, making it almost impossible for the thousands of marchers to continue. The women were jeered, tripped, shoved and grabbed.
The police did nothing to protect the peaceful demonstrators, according to FFL. In some cases, officers openly supported the abuse. More than 100 marchers needed to be taken to the hospital, but protesters impeded two ambulances. It took six hours to get the injured to the hospital. The doctor and driver literally had to fight through the crowd.
Finally, the Secretary of War authorized a troop of cavalry from Fort Meyer to control the crowd. Helen Keller was so traumatized by the experience that she was unable to speak at an event later that day, says the FFL article. None of the men who assaulted the suffragists were arrested, but the women marched on.
According to The Atlantic, the mistreatment of the marchers amplified the event and the cause into a major news story and led to congressional hearings, where the D.C. superintendent of police lost his job. What began in 1913 took another seven years to make it through Congress. In 1920, the 19th Amendment secured the vote for women.
Photo captions posted by The Atlantic identify women by their husbands’ names, as was the practice at the time, such as “Mrs. Russell McLennan, Mrs. Lew Bridges and Mrs. Richard Coke Burleson.”
Many years later, in October 1968, I participated in a demonstration for women’s rights at Saxton Avenue High School in Patchogue, N.Y. That day, I wore blue jeans to school. (At the time, denims were only manufactured for men, so they were boys’ jeans.)
With dozens of other girls, I sat in the school lobby and refused to attend classes until the “dresses only” rule was revoked and we were given the right to wear pants to school. The male authorities made their appearance and gave us the OK.
I doubt that girls attending high school in Patchogue today know about that sit-in, but they continue to reap the benefits.
I celebrate the women who braved the streets of Washington, D.C., 100 years ago, and the women who assert their rights in schools, offices and factory floors today.
March on.
Luanne Austin lives in Mount Sidney. Contact her at RuralPen@aol.com, www.facebook.com/rural pen or care of the DN-R.