Things I am Thankful For this Thanksgiving #fightsnotover

Things I am Thankful for this Thanksgiving.

While I have been thinking of what I would write about for this post, I struggled.  The reason behind this is I realized I take for granted many things that women around the world do not have.  I think as a woman it can become comfortable to be so caught up in your own world that you forget that there is a world outside of your own.

I will admit it, many days I don’t see beyond the walls of my home.  I am too busy working on this or worrying about that that I forget just how lucky I am.

• I am blessed to have a set of parents that have been married for almost 50 years.  Their love has shown me that it takes work to have a happy marriage.  Also a sister as a best friend and a brother who is always there if needed.
• When my first husband left me and my 2 small sons, I was given a second chance when I met my husband I have today and have been with for 20 years.
• I have three adult children who are 24, 21 (boys) and a 19-year-old daughter. To which brought me a daughter-in-law, a 5-year-old granddaughter, and an almost 8-month-old grandson so far.  Which has allowed me to be a Grandma with all of the joys that come with it.
•  I was raised in a family that is close, which has given way to having a close family of my own.

The other things that I have taken for granted are that I have rights.  Rights to drive a vehicle, have my own business and to vote if I choose and for whom I choose. I was not forced to marry at an early age or bear children to someone I did not want to be married to.  These are not rights that women had back in the early 20th century nor rights that many women have right now in other countries.

Did you know that:

1. In Yemen, a woman is only considered as half a witness in court.
2. Women aren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia
3. Women can’t vote in Saudi Arabia or Vatican City
4. Marital rape isn’t illegal in Lebanon
5. In Algeria and Tunisia rapists can escape prosecution by marrying their teenage victims
6. In Tunisia, women can only inherit half of what their brothers do
7. In El Salvador women who suffer miscarriages or stillbirths can be jailed
8. Woman cannot even open a bank account without her husband’s permission
9. Pakistan: Authorities systematically ignore “honor killings.”
10. Ecuador: Abortion is illegal unless you’re an “idiot.”
11. Saudi Arabia and Morocco: Authorities can charge rape victims with crimes.
12. In the Sudan, domestic violence is not prohibited and girls as young as 10 are forced to marry.

After reading the 12 items above I feel thankful of the rights I have here in the United States. It is scary to think that in 2015 women in these other countries have to still endure that type of living.

Which leads me to the following.  In the early 1800s, women were second-class citizens. Women were expected to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. After marriage, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract. In addition, all women were denied the right to vote. Only after decades of intense political activity did women eventually win the right to vote.

This brings me to the movie, “The Suffragette” which came to theaters October

The “19 Days of Suffrage” is in honor of the 19th Amendment, which granted women in the United States the right to vote in 1919.

~Directed by~                   ~Produced by ~                 ~Written by~

Sarah Gavron           Alison Owen and Faye Ward     Abi Morgan

~Starring~

Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter,

Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw,

Romola Garai, Natalie Press, and Meryl Streep

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Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, lead the cast of a powerful drama about the women who were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality in early-20^th-century Britain. The stirring story centers on Maud (played by Carey Mulligan), a working wife and mother whose life is forever changed when she is secretly recruited to join the U.K.’s growing Suffragette movement.

Galvanized by the outlaw fugitive Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep), Maud becomes an activist for the cause alongside women from all walks of life. When increasingly aggressive police action forces Maud and her dedicated fellow Suffragettes underground, they engage in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the authorities, who are shocked as the women’s civil disobedience escalates and sparks debate across the nation. Inspired by true events, Suffragette is a moving drama exploring the passion and heartbreak of those who risked all they had for women’s right to vote – their jobs, their homes, their children, and even their lives.

Produced by Academy Award nominee Alison Owen and Golden Globe Award nominee Faye Ward, Suffragette is directed by BAFTA Award winner Sarah Gavron from an original screenplay by Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan.

What are you Thankful for today?