Women are People, Too

As Aretha said: Sisters are Doing it for Themselves!

Go up to your mother, aunt, grandmother, sister, neigbhour, teacher or office worker and ask her: Are you a person?

The activity may seem absurd, but only 75 years ago, women were not considered persons in Canada, at least not under the law.

Although most Canadian women were given the right to vote by 1920, they were not considered “persons in matters of rights and privileges” under the British North American Act and could not be appointed to the Senate.

In 1927, Emily Murphy, one of Canada’s first female judges, got the support of four of her colleagues in an attempt to gain the right of “person” for women. Murphy and her supporters had been lobbying for almost ten years and their fight led Murphy, to take the issue to the top – first, to the Supreme Court of Canada, and then to the Privy Council in London, England.

This resulted in a ruling by the Privy Council – that overruled Canada’s Supreme Court – on October 18, 1929, that stated: “and to those who ask why the word ‘persons’ should include females, the answer is, why should it not?”

The case, known as the Persons Case, was a huge victory for women in Canada and paved the way towards equality in all aspects of our society. Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Irene Parlby became known as “the Famous Five” and became part of Canadian women’s history.

For more Canadian women history go to: www.4corners.ca