07-17 TABLE of CONTENTS: The Declaration of Sentiments J'Accuse DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS QUOTE from AARP's Maturity Summation of Wrongs Being Committed Against Women The J'Accuse portion of the Declaration of Sentiments adopted at the First Woman's Rights Convention in July 1848 sums up the oppressive lifestyle that women endured under the guise of a free country: "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her... He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.       "Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.       "He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead. He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, her master - the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty and to administer chastisement.       "He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the proper causes, and in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of women - the law, in all cases, going upon a false supposition of the supremacy of man and giving all power into his hands. [Ed. Note: In spite of propaganda, statistics show that most men, IF they request guardianship of their children in the divorce courts, still get it.]       "He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he considers most honorable to himself... He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her.       "He allows her in Church, as well as State, but a subordinate position, claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the Church.       "He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated, but deemed of little account in man.       "He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and to her God.... we insist that (women) have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States..." Now that 150 years have passed, women of the United States still do not have equal legal rights. Racial and religious discriminations enjoy higher judicial standards than do crimes and offenses against women simply because they are women.       Other than women's suffrage, without passage of an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), every single right of women gained in the past 150 years is subject to just one vote in the Congress - or the state legislature of the state they reside in.       The entire radical (and religious) right movement is devoted to destroying women's rights. U.S. Justice Anton Scalia has stated he believes the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage) was improperly adopted and should be nullified! | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | 07-17 DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS B. 07-17-1834, Clara Swain - first woman physician to work in India as a missionary where she taught medicine to women.       In 1874 she was given an estate in honor of her work with women patients, and she opened the first hospital for women in India on it.       Because she set up the hospital in keeping with the caste laws (a practical matter so that she could treat all women), she soon had thousands of patients from all over India and surrounding countries. B. 07-17-1867, Linda Anne Eastman - U.S. librarian. LE developed the children's rooms at the Cleveland Public Library, developed library extensions in hospitals, developed a Braille collection.       In 1918 she became the first woman to head a metropolitan library system, that, under her tutelage became one of the largest and most complete library systems in the United States, its collection grew from 57,000 volumes to more than 2,000,000. B. 07-17-1891, Anna Moscowitz Koss - social-minded U.S. judge who devoted much of her private life to working for improving the services for women, juveniles, and children. Portrait of acting great Eve le Galliene is a typical example of Berenice Abbott's penetrating work. B. 07-17-1898, Bernice (Berence) Abbott - world-renowned photographer. Her work was once described by an art critic as "...a chess game between light and shadow." Her portraits are among the most outstanding ever done, although she is best known for her studies of New York city. B. 07-17-1902, Christina Ellen Stead, Australian novelist whose early works explored modern life as it affects women. B. 07-17-1928, Jean Elizabeth Muir - British dressmaker known for her simple, classically elegant women's fashions. She favored the "little black dress." B. 07-17-1959, Janet Lynn Kavandi - U.S. astronaut. She was accepted into the program in 1994. She holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and two patents. Event 07-17-1971: Catherine M. Bedell becomes the first woman appointed chair of the U.S. Tariff Commission. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | QUOTES DU JOUR       "The earning gap between the sexes narrowed during the 1980s, but income equality for the 6.2 million women over 50 who work full time remains an elusive goal.       "For example, Jane Hathaway, 64, a college professor earns 2/3's the average salary of her male colleagues.       "Women of all ages are paid about 72 cents for every dollar that men earn, but the gender gap widens with age leaving women at 50 and older at 63.7 cents to the male dollar.       "The more women in a job, the lower the salaries. For example, in the first half of this century bank clerks were primarily men and got well paid. Today, they are primarily women and the salaries have dropped to an average weekly salary of $304 while men in comparable work get in excess of $500."             --excerpted from the AARP monthly magazine Maturity. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE |