March is Women's History Month. Women's rights, though often slandered within mainstream Christianity are a vital part of women's history, and during this month, I will post articles that highlight historical contributions women have made that improved the lot of humanity--benefits women, children, and men, enjoy up to the present time. Many of these examples will be taken from the book, Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System.
The history of women’s rights is
a part of every Christian’s heritage and should be a proud part. Christian men
as well as women, raised their voices on behalf of “Woman’s Rights.” One of the
most notable was runaway slave-turned advocate and gifted orator, Fredrick
Douglas.[1]
The Society of Friends, more
commonly known as the Quakers, was the first Christian denomination to
acknowledge, not only the equality of all people, but specifically the equality
of men and women. Is it surprising then, that it was a Quaker who is credited
by some as being the first feminist in the seventeenth century? And later on,
in the eighteenth century, the first person to speak out against slavery in the
United States was a woman and a Quaker. Still further on, in the nineteenth
century, four of the five women who organized the first women’s rights
conference in America were Quakers as well (the "Seneca Fall's Woman's Rights Convention" was a Christian event held in a Christian church).
[1] “Observing woman's
agency, devotion and efficiency in pleading the cause of the slave, gratitude
for this high service early moved me to give favorable attention to the subject
of what is called "woman's rights" and caused me to be denominated a
woman's rights man. I am glad to say I have never been ashamed to be thus
designated.” Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, 1881
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