In the history of earth and human creation, we have all been taught that Eve was created after Adam. Women were second to be created. Does that mean that women should always come second to men in all aspects of life?

Think back to the history books, did you really ever read about important women in history? Women are important in this world no matter what they have to offer. It is about time to recognize those heroines who deserve to be remembered.

Even in this day and age, for various cultures in the world, women do not have rights or a voice.

Several countries are awful in the position of women rights. In different countries in the world, women are killed for such things as speaking out and having an idea. Could we assume that, by not leaving women’s mark in history books, that we are also killing women for their ideas and voice?

I am not a feminist, but recently at an Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez Forum, author of “500 Years of Chicana Women’s History,” it shook me on how she mentioned how difficult it was for her to find historic activists, environmentalists, among other women who are equal or more important than some of the men in the history books.

How many women can you name on one hand that you can remember learning about back in middle school or high school? Those are the ages where we start forming our personalities and way of thinking. It is a critical time of learning for children, which present a large reason why women should be in history.

There have been many struggles that women have overcome. Women were not able to go to school, but there must have been a woman who fought and made people realize that, as mothers, we raise children who represent our future. Who was that woman who fought the system? Thanks to her, women now outnumber males in colleges. The reason we don’t know this woman is because she was not written down on the pages of history.

Do we get paid the same as men? No. Clearly we are not treated equal to men in society. But women have fought it in the past and that is why we have what we have today.

In the time of the Woman’s Suffrage there was a women’s movement to gain equal pay for equal work and the right to vote. Even though we are not exactly equal yet, there must have been one important woman who started this movement. Who was that woman though? We do not know because her name has been forgotten and lost in history.

Margaret Sanger, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Dolores Huerta, Emma Tenayuca, Elena Poniatowska, Antonia Castaneda, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Olga Talamante, Elena Garro, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Isabel Arvide, Martha Cerda, Elizabeth Blackwell, Laura Esquivel, Sor Juana, Angelica Tijerina, Rosa Parks and Sen. Hillary Clinton are some of the exceptionally important women of this world who deserve to be accounted for in history. A few of these women still live while others have passed, but among them were labor leaders, women for equal rights, writers, youth organizers, activists, environmentalists, women workers and more, but not all are in the history books. These are partially known women, but there must be a larger amount of women who are still not known.

A woman who proved not to be underestimated because of her sex is Elena Poniatowska. Even to this day, Poniatowska still gets death threats for having spoken out against the injustices of the government of Mexico. Her book was published because she was a woman and the men thought she had nothing important to say. Poniatowska proved them wrong when her book sold out and everyone was talking about it. The men immediately tried to shut her up and to this day she is still in danger for her life.

For the most part, the world is ruled by men and women have not been able to gain equality. Men own the historic spotlight. Only when women break records or when our names follow, “Is the first women to…” is when we get put in the history books. Some women’s names are in the books, but there are more men than women recognized in history.

One of my male friends said, “Women will be the only downfall of a man,” when admitting that women are important to men. One can take that saying in many different ways. It is critical to argue that women’s importance should not only be because men need us as partners and breeders of future generations, but also for all those struggles we have faced and fought in history for a better change.

It is clear that men have always wanted to establish their place in the world as being able to care and protect women, and that is fine. But it should not be at the hands of women’s legacy and remembrance. Why not share a part in the history books?

Excluding various important women from history could be an attempt for men to maintain their powerful image of being at the top of everything. Realistically though, men have also gained from what women have brought to this world historically. We just ask that theses struggles and accomplishments not be forgotten.

More women need to speak out for those forgotten women to be put in the books. If they deserve it, then let’s not forget them and remember them. As women, or plainly as human beings, we have a lot of power and we need to exercise that power. We have not fought enough for our rights to be historically recognized. We can no longer be conformists and we need to demand our mark in the books. I admit men are historically important because of what I’ve read in textbooks. That is what I have been taught.

I know there are a lot more significant women out there than what I have seen. I just think it is time to read about them as well.