The inspiring gift of equality for women
I have gotten many gifts in my life but one gift from past generations of Americans is by far the best. Just like a literal gift, it is not guaranteed to all citizens of the world. Many people have fought to give me this gift for which I am grateful. America’s best gift to me and my generation is equal rights for women.
No matter your gender, in America you can go to school. I feel fortunate to get to go to school. In Africa, it is a higher priority for boys to get a better education. In its annual State of the World’s Children report, UNICEF says an estimated 65 million girls are being denied basic education, simply for being girls…I am glad I am not one of them and that America has fought for my right to learn.
Since American women have been given these opportunities, my life and the lives of others are better. We now have practical and life-saving technology that might have never happened or would have happened much later. We have amazing inventions thanks to many American women scientists, such as Marie Van Brittan Brown, who invented the first home security system, or Mary Anderson, who invented windshield wipers. The education of these women was a great gift because those inventions have saved many lives.
In America, I also have freedom to make my own choices. In other countries women cannot make their own decisions and are told what to wear and what to do. Like in Saudi Arabia women can’t vote. And in Syria women can’t go outside without being accompanied by a man. In America women can protest and speak our minds. We can protect our country. Here women are free to think and do what they want.
I believe America’s gift to my generation is women’s rights, and this inspires me. My favorite kind of gifts are kinds of which I can build upon. While America is not perfect, we have come much farther than many other countries. And I believe we can go even farther in the future. I look forward to using the gifts America has given me to make a better future for all of us.
Veronica “Vivi” Van Diest is a sixth grader at Daniel Island School in Ms. Ginger Colvin’s class. She recently placed second in the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest with the above piece. She and her family will be invited to attend an awards ceremony sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in April. She competed against sixth - eighth grade writers, students of public and private schools, in Charleston and Berkeley Counties for this award.