Louisa Garrett Anderson Quotes
To remain single was thought a disgrace and at thirty an unmarried woman was called an old maid. After their parents died, what could they do, where could they go? If they had a brother, as unwanted and permanent guests, they might live in his house. Some had to maintain themselves and then, indeed, difficulty arose. The only paid occupation open to them a gentlewoman was to become a governess under despised conditions and a miserable salary. None of the professions were open to women; there were no women in Government offices; no secretarial work was done by them. Even nursing was disorganized and disreputable until Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale recreated it as a profession by founding the Nightingale School of Nursing in 1860.
Louisa Garrett Anderson, 1873–1943, British Surgeon & Feminist, Description of the state of women of her mother’s generation in the 1850s and 1860s
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Billinghurst was physically handicapped without the use of her legs. She protested and marched in protest parades using a hand propelled tricycle which the police sometimes dumped her out of and left her immobile in alleys.
See {628477} for the Dean’s answer. Professor Brooks was about to be married and under the mores of the day and Barnard’s rules, married women were not allowed to work. They should be at home taking care of husband and children. Ironically, there are still a few conservatives who advocate a return to the old policy.
See {628476} for the text that triggered this response. These quotations are very important because it illustrates the terrible sexism that existed even when women were hired into professional jobs which itself is rare. They should be at home taking care of husband and children. Ironically, there are still a few conservatives who advocate a return to the old policy.
Even today, her simple bluntness about such a sensitive subject is jarring. Imagine how it appeared in 1867 when this was a foreign idea which when broached by a woman, or even a man, was phrased delicately and discreetly. And yet, her phraseology was virtually impossible to argue against.
See {592434} for more on ‘honor killings’ where male relatives kill females who have been accused of sexual activity. This is perceived to dishonor the family by many Muslims. She was responding to an Egyptian judge who was arguing that men who commit honor killings should not be punished to harshly as the men were in great emotional states at the time because they were so upset.
Her husband had been assassinated. It is not uncommon that after a political assassination, the widow of the slain male politician, carries on the political legacy. But otherwise there are few female politicians in the Third World in general and the Middle East in particular. Arab and other cultures so severely restrict a woman’s mobility within the society that death of a husband or father seems to be the only vehicle whereby a woman enters politics.
Dr. Saadawi was fired from her government post for revealing the status of women in the country. She was also actually arrested and jailed as well for impairing national “values.” See .{586709}.
Within Christianity there has been a continual debate regarding a woman’s proper role in society in general and in church affairs in particular. This quotation is often used to justify a husband’s dominant role over the wife. Also it supports those who object to women in the ministry or the priesthood. See {587062}. It is useful to note that much of Islam which preaches a similar view of females, probably learned it from Christianity which preceded Islam by almost 600 years.
Women were not, in the decisions of Canadian courts “Persons.” As such they were not allowed to serve as public officials and legislators. In 1929 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council reversed previous interpretations and declared women eligible for all public offices. It became known as “The Persons Case.”
Scientist and double Nobel Prize winner, Marie Curie, 1867-1934, was rejected for membership at the French Académie des Sciences. She never allowed her name to be submitted again and for years refused to allow her work to be published by the Académie.
This Biblical passage has been frequently used to justify discrimination against women.
Despite this pronouncement which kept Caliphs from being female, modern Islamic states (Pakistan, Indonesia) have had female Presidents.
This proverb is a large part of the conceptual basis of the concept of honor killing. It starts with the notion that women are property. However, being animate property women are in the same class as livestock. And if a camel or a donkey get lose and does damage, the owner is responsible. So if a woman does something wrong, it is the father or the husband who is responsible. Since sexual behavior of most kinds is contrary to the Islamic custom and law, any activity in this regard, demonstrates that the father of husband has not been up to his obligations and is therefore dishonored. Therefore, the least he can do, to provide a deterrent to other women is to kill the offending female. Without the concept of property, the entire chain of logic collapses under its own weight.
Louisa Garrett Anderson, CBE was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, whose biography she wrote in 1939.
