I have been thinking a lot about the status of women in our society these days - how far we have come, how much progress we have made and how far we have yet to go. And just when you start to think we have made progress - we have a year like we did this last year - a year-long bombardment against women's health and reproductive rights, care and access.
And, even when you thought was finally coming to an end with legislative sessions ending - we have a week like this past week with things like the DSK case, the result of the Jaime Leigh Jones trial, the perverse obesession with the Casey Anthony case, the death of Betty Ford and a 15yr old in prison for having a miscarriage. I am really starting to wonder what has happened to this country and it has me pissed off!
How have we slipped so far backwards from the work of the 20's and 70's - our feminist fore-mothers must be turning in their graves. How can we, as a society and community, continue to deny that there is a war on women. Or at the very least acknowledge that they have less value in this society - seriously - putting a 15yr old in prison for having a miscarriage! (Lets not even talk about how or why a 15yr old is even pregnant in the first place.). But, no, in prison for life unless she can 'prove' she had a miscarriage and not an abortion. How far we have fallen.
How do we as a society say its OK for a women to be brutally raped, tortured and then held in captivity with no food and water and then tell her she has no recourse for justice. That she is to blame or complicate in the attack. How did we get here?
Why is it always the women who has to 'prove' beyond absolution that she was attacked. And, when she is eventually 'believed' that she was attacked or assaulted - it is her character and history that goes on trial and NOT the attacker. Why do we continue to think this is OK?
I want to know when we, as a society are going to say Enough! to this kind of behavior. To say Enough! to using sex as a weapon of cruelty, torture and power. To say Enough! to making the victims the one's on trial. To say Enough! to treating women as less than and making it ok to treat them as objects.
And, I want to know when we, as women are going to get mad enough about it all to start screaming at the top of our lungs. To stop hiding from it. To stop being afraid to say anything. When are we going to start demanding from our legal system, our elected officials and our society as a whole to treat us as human beings, as equals and as valued members of this society.
This is not a Democratic or Republican issue, a conservative or liberal issue - this is a human rights issue. Women make up more than 50% of the US population, yet we are not represented at any level of government to that degree anywhere. In fact, we lost ground this past election. It will not be, until we have an equal voice at the table will we see things change. It will not stop until we start working together, speaking out in a unified voice that we will see change.
I don't know about you, but I have just about had enough. I am pissed off. And I will no longer sit idly by and not say something because it too 'controversial' or might rock the boat. This boat needs to be capsized!