What right specifically do you have now that you didn't 20 years ago?
[MENTION=10252]say what[/MENTION], I take it by your silence that you do not have many more rights.
Thanks- I missed this yesterday.
Here are a few things that recognize that equality for women have changed within the last generation:
*1981 - The inclusion of women's rights in Canada's constitution
*Rape laws were broadened to sexual assault laws which made it a criminal offence for a husband to rape his wife. In the same year, the Attorney General directed police to lay charges in domestic violence cases- before this men typically faced no consequences for beating their wives/girlfriends.
* Every country in Eastern Europe now has women’s services, new laws, some rape crisis centers, training for institution officials, and the Women against Violence Europe (WAVE) feminist network [
http://www.wave-network.org/]
*International outrage after gang rapes in India caused international uproar and mass protests.
the Indian government took drastic action. On March 19, the parliament passed an anti-rape bill that doubled the punishment for rapists. "Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years and can be extended to life without parole,"
[
http://www.policymic.com/articles/3...new-anti-rape-laws-despite-sexist-opposition]
*Elimination of anti-choice abortion laws.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/5...-hours-to-filibuster-texas-anti-abortion-bill
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/federal-judge-declares-texas-anti-abortion-law-unconstitutional
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._v._Morgentaler
*In 1993, Canada's refugee guidelines were changed to include women facing gender-related persecution.
* Within Canada there's been a lot of policies and laws in relation to equality for Aboriginals, especially females (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commission_on_Aboriginal_Peoples)
*In 1999, the Supreme Court (Canada) ruled that job standards and tests cannot be solely based on capabilities that would favour men
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrews_v._Law_Society_of_British_Columbia
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Regardless of all this, I'm not saying women are equal, I'm saying that the women are MORE equal than they were a few generations ago, and that equality for women is a prominent ideology. I'm not against feminism, I'm just much more than a feminist and don't want to be constrained by that term. I think the progression of the equality of women is great and should still continue- but there's many other inequalities that exist. I think feminism is apart of a large movement for equality for all. I think by calling that movement "feminism" we lose sight of all the inequalities (ones that come from race, class, age, environment, health, etc.). At the heart of it, I am a feminist in that I believe in equality for women, but I'm much more than that- I believe in equality for all, not just women.
I think the way feminism has now broadened to encompass so much, does other inequalities injustice. Feminism is really something that was brought up by white upper class individuals- so it makes me question if the foundational aspect of such a theory truly represents women of minorities, lower classes, disabilities, age, etc. When feminism seeks to understand inequalities of sexuality, race, class, etc. - can it really? I think we need to be careful when someone suggests feminism can understand inequalities outside of gender.