Final answer:
Throughout history, women have been victims of violence, oppression, and disenfranchisement, facing domestic and sexual abuse, lacking legal rights and facing the brunt of societal inequalities particularly in the context of slavery and minority abuses.
Step-by-step explanation:
Women were victims of systemic oppression, violence, and disenfranchisement throughout history. This includes the widespread occurrence of domestic violence and lack of legal rights in the 19th century, the sexual abuse of minority groups such as the Rohingya and Uyghur women, and the severe treatment of enslaved women in the United States. Notable examples include the Boko Haram kidnappings in Nigeria, the grueling conditions faced by women in the garment industry, and the sexual violence suffered by enslaved women documented by Harriet Jacobs and the tragic case of Celia, a slave punished for acting against her abuser.
Victimization of women extended beyond physical violence, encompassing social and political disenfranchisement. As of 1850, women in Europe had virtually no control over property, wages, or their children in a divorce, could not pursue higher education or initiate a lawsuit. They also couldn't vote, a form of social exclusion that made them feel like second-class citizens.
The plight of African American women, as detailed by Ida Wells in her documentation of lynchings, brutally highlights the intersection of race and gender. Enslaved women had to endure forced labor similar to that of men, but with the added burdens of sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and childrearing, resulting in a disproportionately disruptive and uncertain life.