Gender equality reached St. Andrews …. finally

After 260 years women will finally be able to become members of  the venerable Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the Club often considered to be ” The Cradle of Golf.”

It is curious considering that the hands that have rocked craddles though the centuries have mainly been women´s, mothers. Yet, mothers, sisters, wives, aunts, cousins, daughters have been excluded from this club so deeply steeped in tradition.

This past September 18th will go down in history and long be remembered as one of the preciously few days, nowadays, where justice perseveres and inequality is leveled by equality.

An outrageous breach of human rights right in the 21st Century, reversed by votes 85% of 2/3rd of the International Membership of the Club (according to the Daily Mail).  A wise result – one to be celebrated and praised.

We, Icelanders have looked at our Scottish neighbours and friends in bewilderment – yet many found it comprehensible and unneccessary to include women as members of the Club since everyone was running around St. Andrews in skirts/kilts anyway! 🙂 Women were allowed to play all of the golfcourses of St. Andrews, alas not become Club members until now.

The Scots: The first thing that springs to mind are kilts, golf …. and now gender equality

Such a stupendous vote gives hope that the world is not a hopeless place for women to live in after all – that the rectification of justice albeit happening slowly eventually actualizes.  The doctrine of „Seperate but Equal” has been simplyfied to simply „Equal”, which is a grand victory for equality.

We look to the Membership of the R&A Golf Club in admiration, it excelled all of the most optimistic expectations. A sigh of relief …. gender equality reached St. Andrews….. finally.

Women´s rights have always been important to Icelanders and because the topic arises, because of St. Andrews, in opens an opportunity to give a short insight into the emancipation of women in Iceland.

In the middle of the 19th century, women in Iceland had just as few rights as elsewhere in Europe, however, they reached formal, legal equality, especially in the years 1850-1923. Let´s take a look at some of the highlights of women´s rights in Iceland:

Mrs. Briet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir

Already as early as in 1847, the Icelanders (with approval of the Danish King) abolished the old tradition that men should inherit twice as much women.

Briet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir became a pioneer of women´s rights as early as 1887 when she gave a lecture in Reykjavík on the discrimination of the sexes.

1894, the Women’s Association was founded in Reykjavík whose original goal was to ensure that women would have the same right to study at the Unversity of Iceland.

1907-1909 married women got the right to vote in local elections and on  June 19th 1915 they gained the right to vote in parliamentary elections, although this right was restricted to women over 40, the age limit should, however, be reduced each year by one year, but this was abolished in 1920.

Icelanders are proud of their 4th President, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who in 1980 became the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, our beautiful 1st democratically elected female president … in the whole world!

On February 1st 2009 Icelanders got their first female Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who is aswell one of the longest serving MP´s in Icelandic history since she became a member of the Alþingi (Iceland’s parliament) for Reykjavík constituencies 1978, winning re-election on eight successive occasions (32 years).  The first woman elected to the Icelandic Alþingi was Ingibjörg H. Bjarnason who got elected into office 1922.   Currently 25 of Iceland´s 63 MP´s are women or 39,7% which is almost twice the number of the average in other European countries.

In July 2005 Kristín Ingólfsdóttir, professor of the faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Iceland won an election where faculty and students had a vote, and she is the first female to serve as rector in the University’s 100 year history.

The current bishop of Iceland´s Evangelic Lutheran Church is a woman: Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir.  She became the first woman to be elected Bishop of the Church of Iceland on June 24th 2012.

The beforementioned women are perfect role models for Icelandic girls and one might hope girls in general, who are now being raised in the believe that they can achieve the highest postions  and everything in life equal to men.  And Iceland wants to be a role model for other countries of the world in that regard.

And now…. as of September 18th 2014 women are also able to become (International) Members of the R&A Golf Club!

Ragnheiður Guðmundsdóttir, MD, the first woman to become a Captain of a Golf Club in Iceland – and that in the biggest one in Iceland – The Golf Club of Reykjavík (GR).

As to the history of women in Golf Clubs in Iceland –  their part has always right from the beginning,  when the first Golf Club in Iceland was founded been one of equals to men.  Women in Iceland were never considered inferior to men, when it comes to golf.  They have always gotten to play all golf courses in Iceland and never ever has a women been excluded from Membership of a Golf Club in Iceland, such as in St. Andrews.  In fact one of the first women Capteins of a Golf Club in Iceland was Ragnheiður Guðmundsdóttir,  who was Captain 1958-1959 of the Golf Club of Reykjavík , the oldest one in Iceland, founded 1934.  Ragnheiður joined the Golf Club when she was a 23 year old medical student.  It has been said about Ragnheiður that she was one of the few women in the world who served as Captain in a Golf Club …. and that in the 60´s of the last Century!!!

Now the question is: When will we see the first Drive-In of a female Captain in St. Andrews? – Do we have to wait another 260 years for that to happen?