Celebrating the Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention: Reflecting on Women's Rights

Barriers as a women - being a women of colour who at times struggles with anxiety, tend to be less favoured if you don’t have a chatty or bubbly personality. You can get looked down upon if you are less emotionally oriented because I feel women get flack especially if you cannot read peoples mind 24/7.

@MindfulJourney22

How have the ideals and struggles of the women's suffrage movement influenced your lives? What barriers have you experienced that you resonate with the spirit of Seneca Falls? 1848.

Right. This is an excellent and thought-provoking question, since my grandma was born in 1905, and it is herstory that I refer to when I look at the tough women in my life.

My grandma was the child of immigrants. She grew up during the Great Depression in the United States during the 1920s. She told me of sleeping head to toe with her siblings so that they could remain warm throughout the nights, since there wasn’t enough coal in the city they lived in.  My grandma married an immigrant and was the sole wage earner in the family. She had to sacrifice her dream of becoming a dancer to keep her work as a teacher. When my grandma was a teacher, schools became integrated. My grandma believed in everyone’s ability to succeed. Also, at the time my grandma was a teacher, it was not permitted for teachers to marry, but my grandma did anyway. It was also not permitted for teachers to have children. My grandma had three children.

So, breaking the rules came naturally to her. Because of her knowledge of languages, my grandma also was an interpreter for other immigrants to this country. She always knew the strength of women, because she herself was a bold and fearless person.  Not to toot her horn too much, but when my mom was unable to care for my siblings and me, it was my grandma raised us all up, taking us all in without any hesitation. She was the only person in my life who offered unconditional love.

It was because of my grandma that I’m even able to do crisis work and help encourage people on here on 7 cups, because her spirit lives on in me.

Because of my grandma, I will never lose my determination and grit, not only to vote and to enact positive changes for women and children in my country, but also to offer as much hope as I possibly can to women who find they are in a bit of a predicament due to the country in which they were born, and repressive policies here and there. Because of her, I surely will vote!

I can say frankly that I am shocked that the progressive country in which I live has never voted whole heartedly for a female leader. This internalized and systematized repression of women, the misogyny that is woven through the culture, also prevents people from seeing a woman as a leader. I have no such problem myself, since the women in my life were the stronger.

I can also say that because of my grandma and her decisive role in my life, that I have never been afraid to start women’s programs, such as the Women’s Radio Program I started when I lived in the west of my country, or the civil disobedience I participated in, or any of the other causes I have supported throughout my life.

I applaud women’s achievements and hope that the Seneca Falls Convention continues to provide inspiration to women in many different countries, that yes, through collective action, change can happen.

Thank you, Mindful Journey, for posing this thoughtful prompt for consideration.

Kindly,

Rose