It's hard to imagine that prior to Oct. 18, 1929, women were not considered persons in the eyes of Canada's Supreme Court, and thus ineligible to sit in the Senate. The tireless petitioning of Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, Henrietta M. Edwards and Emily Murphy - the Famous Five - led the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to rewrite "qualified persons" in Section 24 of the British North American Act to include women.
Before 1929, many women's groups had organized to successfully improve women's lives and rights. Canadian women were able to run for office as MPs, vote in federal elections, and all provinces except Quebec had female suffrage. Yet Section 24 prevented women's full participation in politics. Its overturn enabled Liberal Cairine Wilson to be the first woman senator in 1930.
Since 1992, this momentous decision has been marked in October with Women's History Month. It's a time to honour the women who courageously challenged discriminations of the past. Many women activists were written into history, although many others remain nameless.
Here in the Tri-Cities, in addition to depicting the histories of Maillardville, Fraser Lumber Mill and an Edwardian family, the staging at Mackin House Museum gives voice to women in a way not found in textbooks.
A tour of the kitchen reveals the long, arduous hours of housework without reliable electricity, running water or indoor plumbing - laundry took the better part of a day. The grandmother's bedroom envelopes you with knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, needlepoint and rag rug work.
Women's hands were never idle. They not only produced home decor but the items they made were essential during cold winters. Most families could not afford to buy warm scarves, mittens, sweaters and blankets.
A contemporary embroidery hanging in the master bedroom's change room is an artistic commentary of the social pressures placed on women. The piece was both inspired by the 1908 Sears Roebuck Catalogue and other embroideries displayed throughout Mackin House. Even the 1910 Fraser Mills census documents the reality of Canada's patriarchal society in listing wives and mothers under their husbands' name, (Mrs. John Smither, for example.)
Such displays demonstrate the everyday lives of women - their work unpaid and unacknowledged, their existence dependent on the generosity of the men in their family. We don't know what the women of Maillardville thought about political equality, access to the workforce, family legislation and the many other changes these pioneer women lived through. Did any join a local woman's group? What were their thoughts when reading the newspaper's coverage on such debates of the day? What conversations did they have with family and neighbours?
At the turn of the century, a woman's worth was measured by her ability to manage a household, raise a family and support her husband. It took two world wars and the relentless continuation of women's movements to challenge this. Today's Canadian woman inherits potential equality in all areas because of pioneering women who publicly protested or who were witness to change and supported it in their daily lives.
This year's Women's History Month theme is Canadian Women Pioneers: Inspiring Change Through Ongoing Leadership. There are numerous ways to celebrate our historic Canadian women: Ask and learn about the women in your family, read a book or watch a film on an interesting historical woman. Or we invite you to visit Mackin House Museum to learn more about the role of women in Canada's social history.
Your History is a column in which, once a month, representatives of the Tri-Cities' three heritage groups writes about local history. Sandra Isabel Martins is museum co-ordinator of Mackin House Museum, which is operated by the Coquitlam Heritage Society.
