Women's history facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Women's history is the study of the important roles women have played throughout time. It looks at how women's rights have grown, celebrates their achievements, and explores how big historical events affected them.

This field of study believes that traditional history often didn't give enough attention to women's contributions. Women's history helps us understand the full story by adding back the experiences and achievements of women.

Most of the early studies in women's history came from the United States and Britain. Here, historians who were also part of the feminist movement started looking into the lives of women from the past. They found that history books often focused only on men's activities like wars and politics. Women were usually left out.

Women's history has changed over time. It started by trying to find the forgotten stories of women. Now, it also tries to include women's experiences into the main historical stories we learn. It's also a key part of other studies like gender studies and feminist theory.

Some big moments in women's history include the suffrage movement, which fought for women's right to vote. Another was the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s, which brought attention to issues like unfair treatment at work.

Many amazing women have shaped history. These include leaders like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and Indira Gandhi. Famous writers like Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, and Toni Morrison also made a difference. Activists such as Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, and Malala Yousafzai fought for change. And scientists like Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, and Ada Lovelace pushed the boundaries of knowledge.

Women's History Around the World

Europe

Over the last two centuries, big changes have happened for women in Europe. For example, laws now protect women's right to equal pay. Traditionally, women managed homes, raised children, and worked as nurses or teachers. During wars, women often took on jobs usually done by men. After wars, they often returned to home or service jobs.

Great Britain

Studying the history of Scottish women became a serious field only in the 1980s. Before that, not much was written about them. Many studies now look at women's work, family life, religion, and how they were seen in society. Researchers are also finding women's own words in letters, diaries, and court records. This helps us understand their lives better.

In Ireland, studies about women and gender relationships were rare before 1990. Now, there are thousands of books and articles on the topic.

France

French historians have done a lot of research on women's and gender history. This is true even though there aren't many specific university programs for it. They use methods from other social history studies to explore women's lives. French society has a strong interest in this topic, which helps drive the research.

Germany

Before the 1800s, young women in Germany lived under their fathers' control. When they married, their husbands took over. To get a good marriage, women needed a large dowry. Wealthy families provided dowries, while poorer women worked to save money for theirs. German laws gave women rights over their dowries and inheritances. This was important because many women married more than once due to high death rates.

Most women before 1789 stayed at home. Even during the Age of Reason, many men believed women were mainly meant to be wives and mothers. Educated women were expected to be smart companions for their husbands. Lower-class women, however, had to work to help their families financially.

In the new German State (1871), women of all classes had no political or social rights. Upper-class women were expected to stay home and manage servants. Unmarried women were often looked down upon. Some could work as unpaid housekeepers or governesses, or become nuns.

Between 1871 and 1890, many middle-class families struggled financially. Women secretly earned money by sewing or embroidering to help their families.

In 1865, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein (ADF) was formed. This group pushed for women's rights to education, jobs, and political involvement. Later, the Bund Deutscher Frauenverbände (BDF) took its place. These groups helped women get more education and office jobs.

Working-class women also campaigned for equal pay and treatment in factories. In 1908, German women gained the right to join political parties. Finally, in 1918, they won the right to vote.

Historians have also looked at how Nazi Germany tried to reverse these gains. The Nazis believed women should focus on being wives and mothers. However, as Germany prepared for war, many women worked in public jobs. By 1943, all women had to register for employment. Hundreds of thousands of women served in the military as nurses and support staff. Women's wages remained unequal, and they were not given leadership roles.

Tragically, more than two million women were murdered during the Holocaust. The Nazis saw Jewish women as targets to prevent future generations.

Poland

Anna Kowalczyk wrote a book about the history of Polish women. It's called Missing Half of History: A Brief History of Women in Poland. Marta Frej illustrated the book, which was published in 2018.

Eastern Europe

Studying women's history in Eastern Europe started later than in other places. For example, in Hungary, it was hard to get academic support for this field. Before 1945, history focused on national themes. After 1945, it followed a Soviet model, which often ignored women's rights movements.

After Communism fell in 1989, there was more interest in women's history. Biographies of important Hungarian women were published. However, it was still hard to get university programs for women's and gender history.

Russia

Women's history in Russia became important during the Czarist era. During the Soviet Era, ideas of equality for women grew. However, in daily life, men often still held more power.

Asia and Pacific

It's hard to find general overviews of women in Asian history. Most experts focus on specific countries like China, Japan, or India.

China

Studies on Chinese women often look at their roles in revolutions and how jobs helped women gain freedom. They also explore how old ideas like Confucianism and family traditions affected women. Even though marriage customs like bride price and dowry still exist, their meaning has changed. This shows that women have more say in marriage decisions now.

Ladies of a Mandarin's Family at Cards, Thomas Allom; G. N. Wright (1843).

Zhongguo fu nü sheng Huo shi (Chinese Women's Life History) is an important historical book. Chen Dongyuan wrote it in 1928. It was the first book to give a full overview of women's history in China.

The book covers Chinese women's lives from ancient times to the Republic of China. It is divided by dynasties and themes like marriage, education, and women's rights movements. The author wanted to show the unfairness and challenges women faced in China.

Historian Susan Mann (2009) looked at how Chinese writers described women over 2,000 years. These writers often focused on women from ruling families.

Tibet

Studying women's history in Tibet is challenging because many stories were not recorded. McGranahan (2010) looked at women's roles in the 20th century. She studied women in the Tibetan resistance army and how women were seen in Buddhist society.

Japan

Japanese girl playing on gekin, Baron Raimund von Stillfried und Rathenitz (1839–1911)

Japanese women's history was not a big part of historical studies until the late 1900s. Before 1945, it barely existed. Even after that, many historians were slow to accept it. The 1980s brought more opportunities for Japanese women's history. This led to exciting new research, often done by writers and amateur historians who were not limited by old methods. Now, Japanese women's history is an accepted part of traditional studies.

Australia and New Zealand

Before the 1970s, there was little serious history of women in Australia or New Zealand.

A key study was Patricia Grimshaw's Women's Suffrage in New Zealand (1972). It explained how New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote. Women's history as an academic subject grew in the mid-1970s. Early studies aimed to fill the gaps where women had been left out. Later, the focus shifted to gender studies, often led by feminists.

Other important topics include family history and the role of women during world wars. For example, studies look at Australian women in World War I and Australian women in World War II.

Middle East

How the Field Developed

Middle Eastern women's history is still growing rapidly. Research started appearing in the 1930s and 1940s, and then again in the 1980s. Early Western research came from scholars like Gertrude Stern and Nabia Abbott. The feminist movement helped bring new life to this area of study. Many new studies have been published since then.

Pre-modern Middle East

It's hard to find direct records of women's lives in the Middle East before the 1800s. Most historical information came from men and focused on men. So, records written by or about women are rare. Researchers use art, court records, and religious texts to learn about women. Court records from the Ottoman Empire have been especially helpful.

Despite limited sources, historians have found valuable information. They have published accounts of women's social, economic, political, and cultural involvement. Marten Sol's 1999 book Women in the Ancient Near East gives a full overview of women's lives in ancient Babylonia and Mesopotamia. It covers topics like dress, marriage, and religious involvement. Amira El-Azhary Sonbol's Beyond the Exotic: Women's Histories in Islamic Societies includes essays from many historians. These essays look at sources that can fill gaps in traditional history. They analyze women's legal status, support of the arts, and religious roles.

Modern Middle East

There is much more information about women in the Middle East after the 1800s. This has led to better histories of many Middle Eastern peoples. Researchers use records from the later Ottoman Empire to discuss women's lives in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Judith E. Tucker's book Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Restoring Women to History shows how changes in global politics and economy in the 19th century affected women's lives. She also points out that changes happened at different speeds in different regions.

The Middle East is a large region with many countries and groups. Scholars have researched many specific peoples and places, both old and new. For example, Gender, Religion, and Change in the Middle East includes research on women's roles in the mid-20th century. It covers topics like women joining universities in Beirut and women organizing social services in Egypt. It also looks at how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affected Israeli women's roles in the military. Another book, Palestinian Women's Activism, talks about women's movements in Palestine from the 1930s to the early 2000s.

Important Topics in Women's History

Rights and Equality

Women's rights are the basic social and human rights that women should have. In the United States, movements to end slavery also brought more attention to women's status. However, the history of feminism goes back even further than the 1700s. Early writings about the "woman question" criticized how limited women's roles were.

Women started to be elected to national governments in the early 1900s. Finland was the first country in 1907. By 1945, about three percent of elected officials were women. By 2015, this number reached 20 percent.

In Britain, the feminist movement began in the 1800s and continues today. Simone de Beauvoir wrote a detailed book in 1949 called The Second Sex. It became a very important book for modern feminism. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, feminist movements, like the one in the United States, greatly changed the lives of women in Western countries.

Work and Money

Historians have discussed how capitalism affected women. Some argue that when capitalism grew in 17th century England, it hurt women's economic importance. Women used to be involved in many parts of farming and industry. Homes were centers of production, and women played a key role. This gave them a kind of equality with their husbands.

However, as capitalism grew, jobs became more divided. Husbands took paid jobs outside the home, and wives were left with unpaid housework. Middle-class women were often confined to an idle life at home. Lower-class women were forced into low-paying jobs.

Others argue that capitalism actually helped women gain freedom. They say that capitalism created conditions for women to become more independent.

Jobs for Women

The 1870 US census was the first to count women in every job. It showed that not all American women in the Victorian era stayed at home. Women made up 15% of the total workforce. They were a third of factory workers. Many women worked as teachers, dressmakers, and tailors. Two-thirds of teachers were women.

Women also held surprising jobs. For example, there were women working in iron and steel factories, mines, and sawmills. Some were even ship riggers, teamsters, or hunters. There were also five women lawyers, 24 dentists, and 2,000 doctors.

Education for Girls

More people wanted education, and schools were becoming more organized. Girls also went to school, but not to prepare for political roles. Girls were generally thought to be less intelligent than boys.

In France, many small local schools taught working-class boys and girls to read. Children of noble and wealthy families had different educations. Boys went to upper schools or universities. Girls, if they were lucky, went to convents with a less structured learning plan. The Enlightenment challenged these ideas, but no real alternative for girls' education was widely adopted. Smart women usually learned at home.

Marriage Ages

The age at which women marry can tell us about their place in society. When women marry later, they often have more chances to get an education or develop skills.

Around the world, the average age for women to marry has been rising. However, in some countries like Mexico, China, Egypt, and Russia, this increase has been smaller. In Japan, for example, the marriage age for women has increased more.

Clothing and Society

Beauties Wearing Flowers, by Tang dynasty Chinese artist Zhou Fang, eighth century

Clothing has always been linked to gender roles. Different periods have highlighted different parts of the body. For example, ancient Greeks thought Persian men wearing trousers looked weak.

Women's clothing in Victorian fashion was often used to control and admire them. The elaborate French fashions led to calls for reform, both for beauty and health reasons. Although trousers for women became fashionable later, women started wearing men's trousers for outdoor work much earlier. In the 1960s, André Courrèges introduced long trousers for women as a fashion item. This led to pantsuits and designer jeans becoming popular. Slowly, rules against girls and women wearing trousers in schools, workplaces, and restaurants changed.

Corsets have been used for a long time to shape the body, like making the waist smaller. There have been many different styles of corsets, depending on their use, the maker, and the fashion of the time.