In 1872, American women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was arrested after casting an illegal vote in that year’s presidential election. She was tried and fined $100 but refused to pay. She delivered this speech the following year, defiantly affirming her right to vote regardless of the laws of the land. “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union,” she declared. She went on to denounce the American government as unjust, as it could not truly derive its power from the consent of the governed as long as women were not allowed to vote. In her speech, translated to Persian by Tavaana, Anthony demanded that women be allowed to exercise all their rights as equal citizens. Her tireless advocacy for women’s suffrage was frequently mocked early in her career, but public opinion gradually changed; she celebrated her 80th birthday in the White House at the invitation of President William McKinley. Fourteen years after her death, the 19th Amendment finally gave women the right to vote.
Tavaana Publications Click here to download Tavaana’s exclusive translation of Susan B. Anthony’s “Women’s Right to Vote” speech.
