March 3rd marked 100 years since suffragists marched on
Washington. In my historical novel, Forty
Years in a Day, which I coauthored with my cousin Dianne Vigorito, one of
our characters is a young Italian immigrant woman named Catherina who becomes
passionate about the progression of the women’s rights movement. Standing up
for her beliefs and advocating women’s rights, she puts her life in danger by
handing out flyers on street corners and attending rallies. She communicated
her reasoning quite eloquently when she said, “If there’s to be true democracy, there needs to be changes. Why,
it’s an American right to vote, denied only to criminals, lunatics, and women.
How ridiculous is that?”
There are many famous women in history who have fought against
convention for justice and equality, and there are also millions of lesser
known women from all walks of life who have faced incredible obstacles in
pursuit of freedom and opportunity. In the end, all women, no matter how famous
or unknown, who have helped change the course of history for the betterment of
all should be remembered and saluted.
