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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MaryEllen Snyder 315-568-2179 MaryEllen_Snyder@nps.gov INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS TOPIC AT WOMEN's EQUALITY DAY
SENECA FALLS - Many are familiar with the 1848 women's equality history in Seneca Falls. Few, however, are aware of a similar call for women's equality in Persia at the same time. At Women's Equality Day observances at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, August 26, at Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seasonal Park Ranger Bobbi Hughes will discuss the dramatic similarities and differences between Elizabeth Cady Stanton of Seneca Falls and Tahirih of Ghazvin, Persia.
"I was very surprised what Elizabeth Cady Stanton was calling for in the United States was the same as Tahirih in Persia," Hughes said.
Stanton's call for the right to vote, as well as 17 other social, civil and religious rights, was made at the first Women's Rights Convention, held in the Wesleyan Chapel, in 1848. Stanton was one of five women who organized the Convention, and who were joined by 67 women and 32 men in signing the "Declaration of Sentiments".
Tahirih, like Stanton, was in her early 30s, and appeared at the Conference of Badasht in late June and early July, 1848. She was the only woman with 81 men. When Taririh dared to appear before the men without her veil, "perfumed and unadorned," to call for equality for women, the sight was so shocking that one man committed suicide and several others ran from the tent in fright, renouncing their religion.
WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY PRESS RELEASE, 8/23/99-2 Stanton used the Seneca Falls Convention for launching a national effort to promote her beliefs of equality. In contrast, Tahirih was placed under house arrest and later executed for refusing to renounce her beliefs. "I was surprised at the odds against Tahirih," Hughes said. "It was not only that she had less rights, she had less support; in every action Tahirih took, she was alone."
Although U. S. women today enjoy many of the rights Stanton called for, women in Iran (modernday Persia) continue to be veiled, and are not permitted to appear in public unless accompanied by a male relative. Hughes, a native of Montana, is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where she is studying women's studies, global studies and history. Her brief remarks are from her summer research project that combines these interests.
Hughes said her studies have given her a greater appreciation of the rights and freedoms she has as a young woman. "I thought I understood how limited women's lives were 150 years ago; now I know how little I understood," she said. Hughes hopes her report will spark a discussion of the worldwide struggle for women's rights that continues today.
Women's Equality Day marks the anniversary of the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, giving women the
right to vote. A Stanton/Tahirih tapestry--presented in 1988 by the Women
of Baha'i of the United States to the Village of Seneca Falls--will be
on display at the Park's Center, 136 Fall Street, during Equality Day
observances. Admission for the event is free.
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