Women’s rights is a term used to refer to a number of individual human freedoms and entitlements as they specifically relate to women.  Women have often been discriminated against throughout history, in ways that sometimes have an institutional, legal, or cultural bias.  While the term is fairly abstract and can relate to any human rights as they relate to women, there are some issues that are commonly associated with the women’s rights movement.  Some of the individual freedoms that have been historically suppressed and have become part of the movement include:  the right to vote, the right to hold office, the right to equal pay and conditions, the right to be educated, and the right to enter into legal contracts.

Women’s rights are also often associated with the safety of women in public places, and the issues surrounding domestic and sexual violence towards women.  Some women’s rights campaigns are very practical in nature rather than being politically or policy driven, and include things such as the installation of outdoor wall lights in public places.  While there have been some traditional matriarchal societies throughout time, and some minor women’s right movements sporadically since the middle ages, the large scale modern movement that has seen the biggest changes in society only recently took off in the 1960’s.  It was in the 1960’s that the terms women’s liberation and feminism entered into public consciousness, and the women’s rights movement really began to have a major effect on wider western culture.

Over the entire course of the 20th century women took on an increasing role in society through voting and an increasing role in public office, however it was in the 1960’s that this movement reached critical mass in the wider community.  Some of the reforms that took place in the 60s included reforms in pay and conditions, birth control, and the introduction of safety campaigns that gave women a greater feeling of safety and independence in public places.  Outdoor garden lights and public lighting in parks and car parks were initiated by many women’s groups as a way to make more women feel safe in public and cut down on incidences of rape and sexual assault.  Garden and street lighting is a great way to illuminate and beautify a space while also making it safer for people to be in and move through.

Women’s rights have improved a lot in recent times, although there are still some major discrepancies regarding pay, public office, and sexual assault in many communities.  In order to achieve true and lasting equality between men and women in society, the women’s rights movement has to stay vigilant and keep educating the general public on the work that still has to be done.