SHELBURNE FALLS — On this day 100 years ago, Congress passed the 19th amendment to give women the right to vote, with the law going into effect the following year.
A century on, a handful of women in a Shelburne Senior Center drumming group remained behind after their Monday session, lamenting the current state of women’s rights. Ranging from 62 to 97, the group members agreed their rights are being threatened under the current administration and said they hoped young people would pick up the fight — first off, by exercising their hard-won right to vote.
Irene Baird, 70, said she has always voted, saying it is her “right” and “privilege” to do so.
“I’m going to have my say,” Baird said. “Even if it feels like it may not make a big difference, at least I’m doing something to try to make a difference.”
Dawn Peters, 78, said she believes young women aren’t aware of certain struggles past generations faced.
“The women who got us the right to vote, if you go back in history, and see what they went through, what they did,” Peters said. “They would get hooted and beaten and thrown out, and some of the women ended up in jail.”
Peters said women need to first focus on keeping “what we have, and then go from there.”
“I think it’s going to be a big fight to keep what we have,” Peters said.
While the women were born with the right to vote, discrimination seeped into most aspects of their lives.
“Even though we had the right to vote, we didn’t still have that much to say over the laws and regulations,” Baird said.
Barbara J. Watts, 72, described how sexism impacted careers, which she said were limited to “nurturing” jobs. She said interviews were usually peppered with questions about motherhood.
Peters agreed, saying she could not become an airline pilot, a career she aspired to, solely because of her gender.
“Today, a young woman can be an airline pilot … and they take it for granted.” Peters said. “That’s the fear. The fight is not over.”
Joan Knox, 68, pointed out while women can vote, they were not represented in government at all.
“We could vote, but there was all men on the ballot,” Knox said.
Knox expressed concerns that women’s rights, and in particular reproductive rights, are “going backwards” after decades of hard-won battles. She recalled the 1973 Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion.
“We’ve all lived through the before times, and how hard women had to fight, for every single right,” Knox said. “When we see all these states reversing Roe v. Wade, it’s like — here we go again.”
Some group members expressed concerns about the possible rise of self-administered or illegal abortions, some drawing from personal experience. Joan Arsenault, 68, recalled a pregnant classmate lugging furniture around her room all night in an attempt to induce an abortion.
Meanwhile, Baird said she cared for a friend after she contracted an infection following a self-administered abortion.
“She almost died … she was so sick,” Baird said. “I took care of her for six months, my husband and I. I think it’s the most awful thing.”
Looking to 2020, Watts said she hoped one woman would emerge from a cluttered Democratic primary pack. In the past, Watts said she has delighted in seeing women’s names on ballot boxes.
“There are a lot of exciting personalities,” Watts said of the women running. “Wouldn’t it be great if one could rise up? There’s not one that isn’t capable of the ones that are running.”
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.