A review of five giant leaps in history, from the perspective of women

1. The fight for the right to vote
The First World War provided the first opportunity for women to take on
traditional male jobs so it isn't surprising that in 1918 women over 30 were given
the same political rights as men. But this change was not just a result of war -
women had been campaigning for decades to be given the right to vote.
The movement also campaigned for the right to divorce a husband, the right to
education, and the right to have a job such as a doctor. Many women, however,
saw the vote as the final achievement that would help them change the laws
affecting their lives.
There were two main groups of protesters: the Suffragists and the Suffragettes.
The Suffragists started protesting in 1897. The group was made up of mainly
middle-class women and campaigned peacefully. However, the organisation
had very few supporters in Parliament. The Suffragettes formed in 1903.
Although this group was also middle class, it attacked politicians and policemen,
held marches, members chained themselves to railings, broke windows, set fire
to buildings, and went on hunger strikes when they were sent to prison.
Women were not given the vote before the war. At the end of the war, in 1918,
however, a new law gave women over 30 the vote, and in 1928 this was
extended to all women over the age of 21.
Questions:
1. Extract the main ideas in the text.
2. Can you guess how life was for women in the 19th century?
3. What were the reasons why women wanted to vote? Why can this
be considered a major turning point?

2. What did World War I really do for women?
The war involved everyone and as men fought in the front, women began to
enter every part of the workforce. Hundreds of thousands were in factories
manufacturing artillery shells and handling dangerous explosives. Over 100,000
nursed in hospitals at home and abroad, many specifically to deal with wounded
and traumatised soldiers. Women took up work in shops, banks and offices. In
the Post Office thousands helped sort and deliver the 12 million letters a week
crossing the channel.
This led to a greater sense of independence, although the wages were usually
half those of men in identical jobs. The work broadened opportunities. Tens of
thousands joined the transport network. They drove trams. They collected fares
on buses and the tube. They issued train tickets, but they were not allowed to
drive trains, only clean them.
Many had worked before the war but over 1.5 million were working for the first
time. A million women volunteered to fundraise, house refugees, run canteens
and clubs, knit garments and providing medical supplies for troops.
World War One proved that women could do the work of men – and do it just as
well. Millions challenged the prejudices and conventions of the age by going
into heavy industry, into offices or into jobs in transport, often leaving domestic
service. But success was short. Adventurous, independent-minded women
found themselves thrown out of work and back into the kitchen almost
overnight. It took another war in 1939 for them to return to work.
Questions
1. Extract the main ideas in the text.
2. Why did women start to work during World War I and what kind of
jobs did they do?
3. In your opinion, did the war really change anything for women’s
rights?

3. HedyLamarr: famousactressandinventor
Hollywood is a place where people are often
recognized more for their looks than their talent - and
actress Hedy Lamarr was no exception. She was
referred to as "the most beautiful woman in the world".
But it's what she invented in her spare time - to help
end the war - that represented a giant leap in history.
It was 1940, and German boats were attacking ships
in the Atlantic, very often with women and children
aboard trying to flee the Nazis - something Hedy knew
a little about: she herself had escaped from Austria.
She set aside one room in her home, had a drafting table installed with the
proper lighting, and the proper tools - had a whole wall in the room of
engineering reference books. It was a hobby that remained obscured in the
shadow of her celebrity.
Hedy had an idea for a secret communications system - one that could send
messages using a technology called "frequency hopping" - so that signal
couldn't be intercepted. She got a patent for her idea but the Navy didn’t believe
a woman could help them. They told her that she should go raise money for the
war instead of silly inventing.
So Hedy did precisely that, using her celebrity to raise millions - dismissed
again for her brains in favour of her beauty. Other inventors – men – used her
idea to develop the technology. Today, frequency hopping is known as wi-fi and
it is used with the wireless phones that we have in our homes, GPS and most
military communication systems - it's very widely used.
In spite of everything, most only remember Hedy’s face - a regret she carried
with her until her death.
Questions
1. Extract the main ideas in the text.
2. Why was Lamarr’s idea a breakthrough? Why can it be considered
to be a turning point?
3. What was Lammarr’s biggest regret? Does this still happen in your
opinion?

4. The first woman to participate in a marathon
Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston race in
1967. “Running made me feel free and powerful. It was what I wanted to do, so
I did it” I asked my coach, "Do you think I'll be welcome at Boston? Maybe it's
against the rules." We got out the rule book, but there was nothing about
women being forbidden in the marathon. It was just assumed that no woman in
her right mind would want to run a marathon and they wouldn't be capable
anyway.
I was nervous before the race, but I was
confident. The gun went off and I started
running. Then all of sudden I heard a noise
behind me. I turned around and I saw the
angriest face I had ever seen. It was a race
official, Jock Semple. He grabbed me by the
shoulders and screamed: "Get the hell out of
my race". He started pulling me but I
continued.
I realised at that moment that everything had changed. Suddenly it became a
contest of proving that women could do it. The official was trying to throw me
out of the race simply because I was a woman. I was so determined that
nothing was going to stop me. I thought: "I deserve to be here. It's a public
road."
In 1967 women were not supposed to be going out in public and doing these
kinds of things. I grew up during the race. I started the Boston Marathon as a
young girl, and came out the other end a grown woman.
When I finished, I was determined to be a better athlete and try to create
opportunities for women so they would experience the same sense of power,
strength and freedom that I had. It wasn’t until 1984 that women could run in
marathons in the Olympics.
Questions
1. Extract the main ideas in the text.
2. Why does Kathrine Switzer say the race was a life changing
experience for her? Why can it be considered a turning point?
3. In your opinion, are women equal to men in sports nowadays?

5. The fight for the right to education
Five years ago, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai started writing wrote an
anonymous blog about her wish to remain in education and for girls to have the
chance to be educated, something the Taliban had forbidden in Pakistan.
Her blog was anonymous, but Malala was also
unafraid to speak out in public about the right to
education, as she did in February 2009 on the
Pakistani television. "I wanted to speak up for
my rights," she says. "And also I didn't want my
future to be just sitting in a room and be
imprisoned in my four walls and just cooking
and giving birth to children. I didn't want to see
my life in that way."
Then, one day, two militants boarded her
school bus, asked for Malala and opened fire. She survived the dramatic attack,
The story of her recovery and afterwards her campaign for education for girls
around the world has been in all the world’s media.
On 12 July, nine months after the shooting, came a major milestone - Malala
stood up at the UN headquarters in New York and addressed a special youth
assembly. It was her 16th birthday and her speech was broadcast around the
world. "One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world," she
said.
The voice of the girl whom the Taliban tried to silence has been amplified. "I
think the Taliban may be regretting that they shot me" she says. "Now my
message can be heard in every corner of the world." Since then she has
become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Questions
1. Extract the main ideas in the text.
2. What was the situation in Malala’s country when she started writing
her blog? Why do you think her story can be considered a major
turning point in history?
3. In your opinion, why is so important everyone has access to
education?