The Rights of Woman was written in 1791 during the French Revolution. Olympe De Gouges wrote it in response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. She claimed that women and men should have the same rights. The revolution should not only give freedom and rights to the men but also have to protect the rights of women who were excluded from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Olympe De Gouges tried to urge the women to strive for their rights. She argued that women has been oppressed by the men and was excluded from the society. In the writing, she listed the responsibilities and rights that women should have. Also, Olympe De Gouges pointed out that women should be treated equally as men under the law. I think her writing is very emotional and powerful. She indicated the injustice that exist between men and women in the society and encourage women to fight for their rights. However I feel Olympe De Gouges was too radical. It seemed inevitable that she finally guillotined during the Reign of Terror. She tried to disparage the men in order to explain her ideas. She described men as “bizarre, blind, bloated with science and degenerated”. These insulting words definitely infuriate the men. It would be a bad influence on men’s view on equal rights for women.

I feel the problem of inequality between men and women is very severe in the society. Women did not have the right to vote. They cannot go to schools. All the profitable jobs were offered to men. Women can only get jobs with low salary or they might not be able to get a job paying any money. They would be mothers or wives. Their money was taken by their husbands. I think this is really unfair for the women. They had the ability to work but the government did not give them opportunities. All men wanted women to obey them absolutely. However, women had the right to do what they wanted. They should be independent. Society should give more opportunities to women. Women are not inferior to men. They are not their servants. Women can do things as well as men or sometimes better.

Olympe De Gouges’ The Rights of Woman was successful and influenced a lot of people. It was a big step towards gender equality. Women’s marriage, education, financial independence and legal rights have improved throughout history. Nowadays, everyone has a chance to go to school in most of countries. Women can go to college and get an education. Education is available for all people. Moreover, women are also able to seek different jobs in today’s society. They can get a job to financially support themselves instead of depending on men. Women can also choose not to get married and remain single for the rest of their lives if they wish. They do not have to rely on men and listen to their orders anymore.

Even though women have become more independent, some unfair treatment still exists in present days. Companies usually prefer to hire men instead of women. They still believe that men are more capable than women. Women have some disadvantages in the job competition because of their gender. Companies would rather hire men because women may get pregnant and the company needs to give women time to give birth and take care of the baby. President Obama just called for equal pay for women in 2014 since women only earned about 77 percent of men’s wages. Sexism is still rooted in people’s minds. In many countries, especially China and India, people still think that women should stay home and take care of their families. This feudal idea has dominated societies for centuries. People think a good wife should cook for her husband and children. Women should stay home and do all the housework. A virtuous wife’s job is to arrange everything in the house and wait for her husband to return from work. Even in the United States, women are still expected to do housework.

Women were considered to be inferior to men throughout history. They were portrayed as weak figures. However, women have gained more rights in today’s society. They now play a crucial role in society. Although inequality still exists between men and women, women are getting stronger and have become an indispensable part of society.