The well-known member of the US Supreme Court becomes the first woman in history to lie in state at the US Capitol
By: Zsofia Kiszely
The worldwide known feminist icon and US Supreme Court associate judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed away from cancer last week at the age of 87.
Photo courtesy of AnnaliseArt via Pixabay
Ginsburg was born to Jewish parents in the early 1930s. She was one of the few women in 1956 to be accepted to Harvard Law School. Later, she transferred to Columbia Law School due to her husband taking a job in New York. Ginsburg made history by becoming the very first woman to work at both Harvard’s and Columbia’s law reviews.
In spite of living a modest life, Ginsburg has become well-known as the voice of women, a person of great justice, and, last but not least, an advocate for LGBTQ+ equality.
Throughout her career and studies, she has been subject to gender discrimination, when she was fired from a job because of her gender. This inspired her to fight for women’s rights, and she played a major part in that firing someone on the basis of gender is now illegal.
Photo courtesy of Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash
Ginsburg also fought against a number of other gender-discriminatory cases and as the general counsel of the ACLU’s (American Civil Liberties Union) Women’s Rights Project, she won five out of six cases before the Supreme Court, which at the time was served only by men.
In the early 1990s, Ginsburg became the second female justice to be nominated to the US Supreme Court. While serving on the bench, she sided with 5-4 majority in regards to making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Before her time at the Supreme Court, she was also defending cases that lead to the expansion of civil rights law and 14th amendment protections to women.
Ginsburg’s death loudly resonates in Scotland as well. For instance, as a tribute, Glasgow City women’s football team will be wearing the name of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on their jerseys during this season.
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