The world suffrage derives from the Latin word suffragism, meaning voting tablet. In the present context different types of suffrage have been identified, depending on the fundamental principle involved in each, such as universal manhood suffrage, universal suffrage and women’s suffrage, to name a few. International Women’s Day this year celebrates with a theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US constitution, granting the right to vote to women. Th amendment was first introduced in 1878. In 1971, the US congress designated August 26th as Women’s Equality Day. In 1972, President Richard Nixon issued Proclamation 4147. Which designated August 26th, 1972 as Women’s Rights Day and was the first official proclamation of Women’s Equality Day. The suffrage issue was taken up by the women’s movement in the 1870s in the west, and in the early 20th century in India. The issue of suffrage was a political issue since its very inception. It got intertwined with the various types of views expressed by the different ideological positions that had emerged by then, and which were finding influence within feminist and women’s movements across the globe like liberals, radicals, Marxists and socialists. The crucial question is how and why suffrage became such an important issue in the women’s struggle in the 19th century. The explanations may be found in the fact of subordination of women to men, especially in legal matters and rights. They were excluded from university education; they could not have any voting rights. The fear that the new women would demand equality of opportunity in all fields including education and politics. The beginning is always difficult. Those demanding equal rights and suffrage rights faced considerable oppositions. The struggle for suffrage marked the beginning of the women’s movement in the world over as this became the main plank in the debate over women’s rights. However, the socialist parties and unions gave support to women workers fighting for better wages and conditions. In France, a plummeting birth rate gave rise to a different set of concerns regarding women’s social roles. The demand for suffrage was seen as a dangerous liberation of women from subordination to their husbands. In 1907, British women gained the right to serve in local government. Three years later, parliament considered a bill that would grant the vote to single women who owned property, but the bill was dropped. The new constitution framed in 1950 ultimately fulfilled their dreams of universal adult franchise and India woman finally got what they had been asking for since 1917. The democratic constitution of India gives equitable political participation to all citizen irrespective of caste, creed, sex, religion, race, colour gender or religious preferences. In India, however, women were granted voting rights along with men under the new constitution upon achieving independence from British colonialism.
St. Xavier’s Bangalore spreads the message that, we must work and spread awareness for the upliftment of every gender. If you are a girl, you can help empower your female classmates to do the same and fight for your right to access sexual and reproductive health services. Education prepares individuals to address the unconscious biases and implicit associations that form an unintended and often an invisible barrier to gender equality. If you are a man, you should work for the same.