The struggles and successes of ordinary women

 

Hello, I’m your host Caty Weaver¹.

On our show today: the struggles and successes of ordinary women, past and present. We look back at American women who fought for the right to vote. We visit Rangoon, Burma, where a few women are helping² some others build careers.

And we examine the debate among Roman Catholics about efforts to permit women clergy⁴.

March 3rd marked the one hundredth anniversary of the Woman Suffrage⁵ Parade in Washington, DC. Steve Ember tells about the historic⁶ protest and how it was remembered this year.

Alice Paul was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. She helped organize the protest in support of suffrage --the right to vote.

Organizers timed the march to take place just a day before Woodrow Wilson was to be sworn-in as president. As a result, almost 500 thousand people were in Washington to witness the Woman Suffrage Parade. Many opposed giving American women the right to vote. In 1913, women were permitted to vote in six western states, but not for national office.

Linda Denny is with the National Women’s History Museum. She talks about the 1913 Woman Suffrage Parade.

“The parade was a very important turning place in the fight for women’s suffrage, or the right to vote, simply because it was the first time that a parade for a political cause had ever taken place in Washington.”

The parade started out peacefully with about five thousand marchers. They represented every state in the country and nations where women already had the right to vote. But the crowd turned violent, attacking some of the marchers. About 100 of the women were taken to a hospital. Linda Denny says the violence gained national attention.

“This parade, though it was highly organized, ended up on the front page of newspapers across the country the next day, simply because of the violence. This outraged⁷ Americans.”

It was not until seven years later, in 1920, that all women won the right to vote under the 19th Amendment⁸ to the United States Constitution. This past week, in honor of the march, the 19th Amendment was put on display at the National Archives in Washington. Other events were held to mark the anniversary. Last Sunday, thousands of women from across the country gathered in Washington. They marched in a parade similar to the one in 1913.

I’m Steve Ember.

Top Roman Catholic³ Church officials are currently⁹ considering whom they will choose as their new leader. At the same time, some Catholics are pressing for progressive actions, like permitting women to join the clergy. Katherine Cole has our story.

Time can appear to move slowly at the Vatican, the headquarters of the Catholic Church. But Giuseppe Visotto, a Vatican visitor, thinks the time has come for change.

“The Church has to adapt to modern society. The world is changing rapidly and the church has to follow in each and every respect.” 

Half a world away, one Catholic congregation recently met at a Protestant church in Baltimore, Maryland. This group has already rejected the Vatican’s ban on female clergy. Its members are part of a movement that started in 2002 in Germany, where Pope¹⁰ Benedict was born.

Worldwide, about 150 women claim to be Catholic clergy members. Gloria Carpeneto is one of them.

“Women represent half the experience in the world.”

She says women have experiences that men do not have. And if only men are in the clergy, women’s voices are not represented.

About one-third of people raised as Catholics in America are said to have left the church. Some join Protestant groups that do accept women priests¹¹. But public opinion has had little influence on Catholic Church officials. The Vatican has ruled that any official who ordains¹³ a woman priest¹² should be expelled¹⁴ from the church.

Still, Italian priest Romulo Fenu says women are respected and cared for in Roman Catholicism. He notes the importance of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Catholics. He says barring women from the priesthood is not evidence of discrimination. 

A group of cooks in Burma is seeking to help needy¹⁵ women with training in the art of making baked goods. The training also includes life skills classes to place Burmese women in the country’s growing hospitality¹⁶ industry. Faith Lapidus tells us about the program.

Thirty-nine-year-old Ma Moe Nge is learning how to bake. She hopes to start her own bakery at the end of her nine-month training program.

“Before, I only saw this kind of food, but I didn’t know how to make it. Now, I’ve even surprised myself that I can make this kind of food. I am interested in it and I also feel proud of myself.”

Ma Moe Nge is training with Yangon Bakehouse, a social business formed by four friends to help Burmese women in need.

One of the four is American Heatherly Bucher. She says the training, and fair pay, helps many women get out of debt, rebuilds self-respect and gives them hope.

“The bakehouse is a livelihood¹⁷ program training disadvantaged Myanmar women in both livelihood skills, culinary skills, front of house, hospitality and life skills. So giving them skills from you know budgeting their personal finances¹⁸ to reproductive health to good nutrition to English class.”

Another co-founder of the Yangon Bakehouse, Phyu Phyu Tin, is from Burma. She also operates a restaurant in Rangoon.

“It’s always in my mind like I want to help our people. And the main thing is, even like expatriates, people from outside, want to help our people. So I want to try as much as I can to help them make it happen.”

Heatherly Bucher says they choose women who are unable to earn a living for their families. After the training, the women seek jobs in Burma’s hospitality industry or in private homes.

“We know business and we know food and we know women. And so we’re trying to help some of the most disadvantaged women here from their twenties to forties that kind of missed tjose opportunities to develop life skills and job skills and need a chance to not only support their families but to participate in the economy. You know, that’s growing.”

Currently, the Yangon Bakehouse sells its goods at private and community events. The organizers of the program hope to move the Bakehouse to a permanent location by the end of March.

I’m Faith Lapidus. 

And that’s AS IT IS for today. I’m Caty Weaver. 

Thanks for joining us. Tune¹⁹ in tomorrow when we’ll discuss 

international efforts to end violence against women, a central issue of this year's International Women's Day observance. And remember, you can get the latest world news on VOA at the beginning of the hour Universal Time.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

4 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

5 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

6 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

7 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

10 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

11 priests   

n.（基督教和罗马天主教的）神父( priest的名词复数 )；牧师；（非基督教会的）教士；祭司

参考例句：

• the ordination of women priests 女司祭的授职礼
• The clergy remain divided on the issue of women priests. 在女性教士的问题上，牧师们意见不一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

13 ordains   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• The festival ordains the Jains to observe the ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. 盛典命令耆那教徒日常遵守十大美德。 来自互联网

14 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

15 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

16 hospitality   

n.好客，殷勤；adj.（气候等）宜人，适宜

参考例句：

• He welcomed you to enjoy his hospitality.他欢迎你去做客。
• Thank you for your kind hospitality.谢谢你的盛情款待。

17 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

18 finances   

n.(pl.)财源，资产

参考例句：

• I need a professional to sort out my finances. 我需要专业人士为我管理财务。
• The company's finances are looking a bIt'shaky. 这个公司的财政情况看来有点不稳定。

19 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。