History of Women's Rights in International and Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The history of women's rights spans over 600 years of history and every nation. Women began seeking rights in an organized fashion during the Renaissance, the movement grew in the Enlightenment and continued to gather steam through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Women sought political, economic, and social equality through suffrage, the demand for equal pay, and maternity benefits. Around the world women have engaged with the political discourses of their locality and sought to have a voice in local and global issues that impact them and their children. Not all of these struggles have been helped by Western ideas; as women in former colonies have sought equality, the legacy of colonialism has shaped their struggle and intercessions from Western feminists have not always been welcome.