Describe the changes that took place in the rights and roles of women in nineteenth century New Zealand

society between 1850 and 1900. Evaluate the influence of these changes on the lives of women by 1900. New Zealand between 1850 and 1900 could arguably be described as a social laboratory, were women s morals and social reforms slowly changed to a more egalitarian society. Although by custom, tradition and nature of their sex, women had the function of preserving the moral fibre of the nation; their roles in society were limited in the roles of wife, worker, and colonial helpmeet . However the variety of a women, tended to be dependent on location, age, ethnicity, and class. However as social acts passed into law, marriage, education, workforce and overall opportunities improved for women. New Zealand in the nineteenth century demonstrated a major equality gap between men and women. As in other European societies, colonial New Zealand women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Women had as many rights as criminals and were treated as almost second rate citizens. However, both men and women accepted the idea that women were suited to domestic affairs, while men fitted the public life and the vigorous world of politics. Women had little, to no, impact on the direction society and were expected to be the bread maker. Although New Zealand was isolated from the rest of the world, it was not untouched by new ideas on women s rights and the establishment of the new women. Nineteenth century feminism was growing in the northern hemisphere as the result of the increased education of women at all levels and the increase in paid employment which created tension within the male dominant society. In New Zealand, these elements became evident as some started to challenged the women s roles. The demands from women to have equal political, legal and economic rights was publicly noted by Mary Ann Muller, who published An Appeal to the Men of New Zealand, Mary Taylor and Mary Colclough who both wrote both publicly stated there concerns. The challenging of women s roles in New Zealand society ultimately resulted in the suffrage campaign which was lead by Kate Sheppard and the WCTU. Women s suffrage was finally won in 1893 and gave women entry into the political sphere. Discrimination and inequality in society, marriage laws and employment become the norm in the nineteenth century. Marriage was very much a practical arrangement and because of the gender imbalance (in 1881 there were only 656 adult women for every 1000 adult men. With no control over property, wages, income or savings wives were almost embedded in their families, childbearing, and unpaid domestic labour, resulting in them having no separate legal existence. Divorce was difficult and socially unacceptable and if women chose to leave her husband she stood to lose her children, home and maintenance, whereas a man could divorce his wife for simply adultery. According to Judith Malone, only two divorce cases were reported in the colony 1870 1874. However deserted wives gained the right to their wages and property in 1860 and marriage laws gradually changed in women s favour with the Married Women s Property Act 1884 which gave them the same rights as their husbands in these areas. Until 1898, the Divorce Laws made it much easier for a man to divorce his wife than it was for a woman to divorce her husband. Significant gender differences in education and employment was also experienced for women in the nineteenth century. The majority of women did much unpaid domestic work, however, with paid employment; women had very restricted range of occupations, with women s participation in the paid workforce being limited such as servants or in farming and later in factories. The proportion of working-age women in paid work was lower than in Britain but increased from the 1880 s onwards. In 1874 the proportion was 11%, rising to 14% in 1891 and 17% in 1900. Changes in education for women also took place when Miss Dalrymple, an educationalist, seized the opportunity in 1871 in

furthering the education of girls by opening the Otago Girls High School. Primary schooling became compulsory in 1877; however the curriculum were designed to ensure girls stayed in the domestic sphere. But university study did become possible for girls in the later part of the 19th century. This education of girls was the primary achievement of the nineteenth-century feminist movement. The very fact that women were educated and entering the work force outside of the home, illustrated the changing attitude to the role of women and by introducing them to the competition of male workers and employers, and to increased regulation by the state, added to the ranks of conscious feminists.

New Zealand in the early years proved no exception from the colonial societies in the nineteenth century that were notorious for their drinking habits. The major social issue by many respectable New Zealanders was the consumption of alcohol. Gambling, fighting and womanising become the norm with alcohol and it was seen as the main cause of poverty within families, as well as domestic violence and prostitution. Financial security of the family was also being undermined by the abuses associated with alcoholism and with it being the main threat to the family unit; it was thus natural that the drink issue demanded women s attention. From the 1830 s temperance societies were formed, encouraging people to use alcohol moderately. It was from this temperance movement that women, on the practical side, learned the arts of organization, administration and leadership. While women on the ideological side entered a new outlook on their basic rights, urging them to the realization of full rights as a woman. Economically, by the turn of the nineteenth, few women had true economic independence of men, though there was greater economic opportunities in New Zealand which some took advantage of. Women such Kate Edger, Elizabeth Yates, and Ethel Benjamin made it in the workplace despite the patriarchal society but the majority of women were in a limited range of jobs, most of which were related to their accepted domestic roles. This was a result of the majority of women were tired to marriage and their children. The impact on the women s suffrage resulted in 65% of all women over the age of 21 voted in the first general election in 1893. Earlier historians argued that the granting of female suffrage made little difference to the status quo as women tended to vote with their husbands. However there is evidence that women used their own initiative in choosing who to vote for, and so politicians took an increasing note of the interests of women. The Liberal Government placed far greater emphasis on progressive issues such as the public health reform. But the franchise movement also led to wider debate on the comparative physical and intellectual capabilities of men and women and their social positions. Although Women could not stand in parliament, but many women become politically active in groups such as the Society for the Protection of Women and Children and the National Council of Women. Women s pay and conditions were unequal of those of men. Women were beginning to enter professions such as law from 1896 Most women were tired to marriage and children. The Acts had given women greater equality but they were still not equal, however equality was across divorce. Women had little control over their fertility and were generally ignorant about their own reproductive functions.

Rutherford Waddell s sermon, the Sweating Commission and the Liberal legislation (Factory Acts, Shop and Shop Assistants Act) that resulted helped women improve their working conditions. Development of trade unions such as the Tailors and Tailoresses Union helped improve pay an d working conditions for women