Remembering Susan B Anthony: Pioneer in feminist activism

Susan B Anthony is the name behind the history of the long struggle that women in the United States of America had to face before giving its women the right to vote. She is the one who organized their struggles, giving it a proper structure. An international women's rights activist, her sphere of work has had a detailed influence on the feminist battles that people from the developing world find themselves facing today- anti-slavery, to voting rights and equal pay for women.

In her work, she mostly refers to the female in singular, perhaps with the objective of bringing them together as one unit regardless of the things that separated them. On her birthday, here is a small tribute to her life and work.

 She is on American currency

Remembering Susan B Anthony

The 1979 mint of the American dollar coin bears her picture. Sad part is that the mint was halted in 1981 due to poor public reception. And we know why that was!

She is the reason why women in America vote

Women's situation in America is much worse than it appears. This has always been the case. The Suffragette, or the suffrage rights movement was spearheaded by Susan. There is a popular incident where she went on to cast her vote, got caught, refused  to pay the fine, and wasn't persecuted further. This symbolized popular agreement with the thought which was a huge leap for women's equality. She also co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NSWA), an advocacy group for women's voting rights with partner (for everything in life), Elizabeth Staton.

The World's First Feminist Newspaper: THE REVOLUTION

Remembering Susan B Anthony

CADY & ANTHONY (archives)

Elizabeth and Susan, together started what was perhaps the world's first feminist newspaper, run entirely by women. It gave them a fair space to express their views on various important political, legal and social issues. It went on to be a daily for two years before it closed down, in the absence of suitable audience with access. The tagline of the newspaper was:

"Men, their rights and nothing more: women, their rights and nothing less."

World's first Working Women's Association

Women were excluded from being a part of men's trade unions at the time. Being a delegate of the National Labor Congress, she made sure a separate union was formed for women, and also spoke in favour of equal pay for equal work. Serendipity was her style, when men when on strikes she would encourage industrialist to hire female workers, which got them an equal opportunity to prove their worth.

Remembering Susan B Anthony

The feminist movement around the world today talks about the sisterhood and the importance of women's associations. This thought originally came from Susan, whose vision and work gave women that hope and belief that they could make good of their lives outside domestication as well. May souls like her's touch earth more often.