Explain Why Women Were Becoming Increasingly Concerned With Their Rights in the Early Twentieth Century
In the early twentieth century, women began to change their views on their rights, and defy what was expected of them. The roles of women in the nineteenth century led to this, and the first example of women going against their roles was the Match Girls’ Strike, and later on the formation of the suffragists and the suffragettes.
Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to or were expected to follow the roles presented to them by society. They were to become housewives, without following further education or a career. Women could be sold or auctioned as if a possession, and were considered the property of their husbands. Married women had no separate legal identity and were excluded from Parliamentary debate and legislation. It was not until the Married Women’s Property Act in 1882 that married women were allowed to own and control property. Until then, all property went to the husband upon marriage. The roles of women in the nineteenth century were an important cause of women becoming concerned about their rights because women began to question their
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The questionable social norms and gender roles for women led to the Match Girls’ Strike, a protest against unreasonable working conditions, and the rise of the women’s suffrage movement which then led to the formation of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union. While each cause or event was important, the most important cause was the roles of women in the nineteenth century. This is because if women refused to challenge them, then working and legal rights would never have been