A civil right is, “an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury.” That injury is discrimination. Regarding American civil rights Cornell says…
Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of the individual's membership in a particular group or class. Various jurisdictions have enacted statutes to prevent discrimination based on a person's race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual orientation.
Encyclopedia Britannica shows that many nations confer civil rights which “guarantee full and equal citizenship for people who have traditionally been discriminated against on the basis of some group characteristic.” As we all know, women are a group that has been traditionally discriminated against. However, during the years I have written diaries at Kos I have been challenged repeatedly when I advocate for women’s civil rights. Therefore, I’m writing this post to provide evidence with links to verify that women deserve civil rights, and by default have a right to complain when our civil rights are violated.
I have found that the number one reason Kos readers challenge my feminist advocacy here is when I write about BIPOC persons, groups, or nations who oppress women. The assumption seems to be that it’s wrong for white men to discriminate against women, but it’s not only okay for BIPOC men to discriminate against us, but women don’t even have the right to complain about discrimination if the perpetrator is BIPOC. That’s a double standard that discriminates against women, and therefore, is not liberal. For example, last week a poster said a cuss word to me because I wrote about the extreme oppression of women at Middle Eastern nations, and then Kos banned me.
So, I just think that Daily Kos shouldn’t ban feminist political thought. Feminism is a core liberal belief, therefore, logically I have the right to write diaries exposing misogyny. Before women can gain civil rights, we have to at least have the right to talk about violations of our civil rights. There are a lot of liberal folks here who side with feminist politics, and I’m glad for your support, but because of all the challenges by people who think I have no right to promote feminism, it’s sadly necessary to write this post so I can link to it if and when another person tries to silence my feminist writing.
I think it’s wrong to shoot the messenger simply for telling the truth. Feminists should be allowed to tell the truth, because we have to tell the truth before we can create gender equality. Studies consistently show that the most sexist nations are BIPOC. For example, Amnesty said Afghanistan, DR Congo, Pakistan, Somalia and India are “The World's Worst Places to Be a Woman.”
Furthermore, studies also show that women have the most equality at nations with a significant white population. For example, the 2023 Women Peace and Security Index shows that Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Iceland, Norway, Austria, Netherlands, and New Zealand score highest for “women’s inclusion, justice, and security.” If those statistics make people uncomfortable, then that is the cost that liberals must pay, because the alternative, banning feminist research, creates an obstacle to women’s civil rights. So the choice is be a denier and prevent women from solving the problem of misogyny or accept the truth and join me in the difficult work of achieving women’s civil rights.
This post is not about why some nations confer more civil rights for women. It’s about the necessity of getting the facts and publishing the facts before positive social change can happen for women.
