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How Did The Famous Five Affect The Rights Of Women In Canada

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Today, Canada is known as a free country. As a nation, it welcomes people of both sexes with different culture, beliefs, race, and religion. However, Canada was not always a welcoming country. In the past, women had to overcome many obstacles within society, such as being denied in education, social aspects and in the workplace. They were not allowed to vote or run for political positions because they were not considered as “people”. Gender equality is achievable in Canada because, in the last century, the Famous Five had fought for women to gain equal rights, women have shown that they were just as capable as men, and they have gained respect from society. The efforts of the Famous Five had a lasting effect on the rights of women in Canada …show more content…

The government did not care what women were feeling and how they were being treated. On January 1, 1916, one of the members, Emily Murphy, became the first female to be a judge in the Commonwealth. Her first day in court, lawyers would begin their presentation by objecting to having a case being heard by a woman judge because they said, women were not defined as ‘people’ by the British North America Act of 1867. In fact, the term of that act said that women were people, “in matters of pain and penalties” but “not people in matters of rights and privileges” (Cruickshank 5). Then the Person’s Case begun and it was a historical significance to Canada’s …show more content…

Although many women went back to being homemakers times would never be the same again (“Women” 3). The experience they had during WWII was remarkable for them, but they were told to go back home while the men go to work. Women were not having it, they wanted to prove that they were capable as men. When the world saw what women were doing other than being a housewife, their perspective on women change. People were now starting to realize that women could do so much more than cleaning and cooking. The overall result that was created by women in the workforce and the military was an increase in equality between the sexes and a huge change in gender

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