Is Feminism Outdated in the 21st Century?

586 Words3 Pages
Is feminism still relevant in the modern world? In the early 20th century the suffragettes played a huge part in gaining votes for women. World War One also played a large part the feminist movement as women who had previously been deemed incapable of much more than looking after children and husbands were now required to help in other areas such as the work force as part of the war effort. After World War One women were not content to revert back to their pre-war status. World War Two required women in the munitions factories and as land girls which due to the shortage of men gave, women a definite place in the working environment, and the argument of women being incapable was now of no consequence. Another huge landmark in feminism was the abolition of the property law that stated that women could not own property; all property would be their husband's or father's. Previous to this in the 60s the birth control pill helped liberate women by giving them highly effective control over their own fertility. As the 60s progressed, the women's liberation movement gained momentum. Later in the 60s the sex discrimination act was put in place, making it illegal to discriminate against someone on the grounds of their gender. Quite late in the 20th century the offence of rape within marriage became a legally recognised offence, marking another significant move away from the old legal principle of a woman being the "property" of a man. Feminists in the 21th century however, now have the task of identifying changes that have not yet been made or unearthing issues such as the unnervingly recent change stating women might have been raped within marriage. As a united group, feminists could also look outside their own country and put pressure on their government to take an interest in the equality of women in, for example, Saudi Arabia where girls
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