100 years ago.....

 

100 years ago, Agnes Macphail was the first woman to be elected a Member of Parliament!   One of her greatest accomplishments was her role in reforming the Canadian penal system.  In 1923, prisoners at the Kingston Penitentiary rioted.  This prompted her to investigate conditions in prisons.  What she saw shocked her and sparked her to campaign for prison reform.  She argued corporal punishment should be reduced.  Her recommendations included more outdoor time and exercise for inmates, mandatory education for illiterate inmates and the introduction of prison labour.  Some of her changes didn't take place until 1945.  

In 1929, Macphail became the first woman nominated to the Canadian delegation to the League of Nations.  She was originally assigned to a committee on the health and welfare of women and children.  

She was a self-professed feminist.  In addition to her vocal support for farming women and female workers more generally, she founded the Elizabeth Fry Society of Canada, which supported women in conflict with the law.  She was an outspoken advocate of gender equity and strove to end legal discrimination of women including modifying the grounds for divorce!

What a wonderful lady and she helped others that followed change things for Canadian women!