... A woman had no means to support herself and if she chose not marry she was disapproved of by society. A man was able to choose his profession not something a woman could do. Men were also the decision makers in society, it was felt that women were not mentally capable or rational enough to make any political or legislative decisions, therefore it was left to the men. This led to laws and rights being biased towards men. An example of this was when in 1836 Caroline Norton was taken to court by her husband who requested a divorce. Caroline lost everything including property that was hers before the marriage. As a result of her endless campaigning for justice, laws were changed. In 1839, the Infants and Child Custody Act allowed women to ask for custody of children under seven. Before this fathers were given total custody of the children ...

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