By Daily Press staff
As a woman voting in the last presidential or California election, were you spit upon, beaten, scorned or jailed as you cast your ballot?
More than likely, the answer is no. And for that, modern women can thank and celebrate the courageous suffragettes of years past who fought for the right to vote. Throughout the country Aug. 26 women and men will be celebrating Women’s Equality Day to commemorate and reaffirm a woman’s right to vote.
“Although Women’s Equality Day is largely symbolic, I hope that it reminds women everywhere that one of the most powerful things they can do to make their voices heard and change the course of history is to vote,” said Andrea Lipton, chair of Santa Monica’s Commission on the Status of Women.“Twenty-two million single women voters have failed to vote in a presidential election. If they had, we might be looking at an entirely different world.”
In support of women’s rights, the Santa Monica City Council recently joined Westside Cities Council of Governments colleagues in West Hollywood to become founding members of the Pro-Choice City Campaign. The action came at the request of Councilman Kevin McKeown at the council’s Aug. 8 meeting.
Joining the Pro-Choice City Campaign with West Hollywood, “reaffirms our support of women’s reproductive rights, including women’s right to choose,” McKeown said at the meeting.
“A whole generation of women in our country have grown up with the assumption that they will have the choice on their own bodies,” McKeown said.“Every now and then, we have to reaffirm that.”
The Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women works to enhance the status of women in the community. The Commission promotes those goals through investigation of, advocacy for and policy development regarding issues relevant to women and girls, and by creating leadership and career advancement opportunities for women and girls in the community
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2006. Read the original PDF.