Camp Victory honors Women's accomplishments

Courtesy Photo | Col. Elizabeth Fleming, command judge advocate, 35th Civil Affairs Brigade, was the guest speaker at the Women's Equality Day service, held at Al-Faw Palace Aug. 24. Fleming spoke extensively on the history of the women's suffrage movement and the the trials and tribulations they went through for the government to recognize their right to vote.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

09.02.2007

Courtesy Story

28th Public Affairs Detachment

By Army Sgt. Abel Trevino
28th Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD -- A ceremony recognizing the women's suffrage movement and the struggles undertaken to earn the right to vote was held at Camp Victory's Al Faw Palace Aug. 24.

Attendees were treated to re-enactment skits from "Iron Jawed Angels"— a 2004 movie about the suffrage movement — and speeches from guest speaker Army Col. Elizabeth Fleming, command judge advocate, 358th Civil Affairs Brigade, and Army Brig. Gen. James McDonald, Multi-National Corps-Iraq effects coordinator.

Sgt. 1st Class Alicia Rivera, MNC-I Equal Opportunity Advisor and coordinator for the event, said Women's Equality Day served as a reminder of the hardships endured by those who made it possible for all women in the United States to vote.

"There's a lot behind the struggle that people don't understand and take for granted," Rivera said. "Today we're trying to put out there that (voting) is a privilege and it's not just something that comes along because it's an election year."

During her speech, Fleming said that in her 50 years she had seen many changes in the general treatment of women and hoped to pass along the struggles of those who came before her.

"You may not have realized that women were not allowed to run in the Boston Marathon, that the longest race in the Olympics was about 1,500 meters — about half the PT test — because women were too delicate to run any further than that," she said.

Fleming admitted she did not know the story of the early suffrage movement and had to research it for her speech.

"I sat down and learned," she said. "I don't have any room to talk about what anybody does or doesn't know about women and their rights because I did not know one thing."

Fleming learned that in pursuit of their voting rights, women were mocked and heckled.
More than 300 women were injured seriously enough to visit the hospital, she said

"On June 14, 1919, Congress voted on the 19th Amendment," Fleming said as she explained the history.

Even the event coordinators gained a new understanding and appreciation of the circumstances surrounding the 19th Amendment.

"It was amazing the suffering they went through," Rivera said. "I wasn't aware of the prison, or the times they were sent to jail. I didn't know that they went to jail just for trying to get the right to vote. So, I did learn a lot."

• Date Taken: 09.02.2007
• Date Posted: 09.02.2007 05:45
• Story ID: 12099
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ