Woman in United Kingdom

Meaning of Woman

The following is an old definition of Woman [1]: May mean any human being of the female sex, or an adult female. In the United States unmarried women have all the civil rights of men; they may make contracts, sue and be sued, be trustees and guardians, be witnesses, and a.ttest all kinds of papers. But exercise of political powers has not been generally conferred upon them: while she is a citizen (see, in this resource, the term), she is not eligible to office, nor entitled to vote, nor has she a constitutional right to practice law. It is not one of the privileges and immunities of women as citizens to engage in any and every profession, occupation, or employment in civil life. The civil law, as well as nature herself, has always recog- nized a wide difference in the respective spheres and destinies of man and woman. Man is, or should be, woman’s protector and defender. The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life. The constitution of the family organization, which is founded in the divine ordinance, as well as in the nature of things, indicates the do- mestic sphere as that which properly belongs to the domain and functions of womanhood. The harmony, not to say identity, of interests and views which belong or should belong to the family institution is repugnant to the idea of the wife adopting a distinct and independent career from that of her husband. So firmly fixed was this sentiment in the founders of common law that it became a maxim that a wife had no legal existence separate from her husband, who was regarded as her head and representative in the social state; and, notwithstanding some recent modifications of this civil status, many of the special rules of law flowing from and dependent upon this cardinal principle still exist in full force in most of the States; as, that she, without his consent, is incapable of making a contract binding on either of them. This incapacity renders her incompetent fully to perform the duties and trusts that belong to the office of an attorney and counsellor at law. That unmarHed women are not affected by the incapacities which arise out of the married state are exceptions to the general rule. But the rules of civil society must be adapted to the general constitution of things, and cannot be based upon exceptional cases. It is within the province of legislation to ordain what offices, positions, and callings shall be filled and discharged by men, and what by men or women. Act of 15 February, 1879, admits to practice before the Supreme Court any woman of good character who shall have been a member of the bar of any State or Territory, or of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, for three years. The tendency of legislation, and of the decisions of the higher courts, is toward the admission of women to the legal profession, upon equal terms with men. In a few States a woman may serve as a recorder of deeds, be appointed a notary public, be eligible to a school or a city office and vote for nominees for such offices, and hold the office of overseer of the poor. In Illinois by statute no person is precluded from any occupation, profession, or employment (except military) on account of sex, the statute not affecting the eligibility of women to an elective office, nor enabling them to serve as jurors, nor permitting them to labor on the streets; but, by construction, it allows them to be appointed masters in chancery. In the discretion of the head of any department of the general government she may be appointed to any clerkship authorized by law, upon the same conditions and with the same compensation as are prescribed for men. She may be employed as customs inspector to search the baggage and persons of females. When women are excluded from the right to vote for particular officers, they are excluded from the right to hold the offices. Compare Feme. See Burn; Citizen; Feudal, System; Husband; Man; Person; Privilege; Pronouns; Scold; Widow; Wife; Witchcraft.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Concept of Woman provided by the Anderson Dictionary of Law (1889) (Dictionary of Law consisting of Judicial Definitions and Explanations of Words, Phrases and Maxims and an Exposition of the Principles of Law: Comprising a Dictionary and Compendium of American and English Jurisprudence; William C. Anderson; T. H. Flood and Company, Law Publishers, Chicago, United States)