Woman's Rights are Human Rights!

So, women’s rights. Not a light hearted topic for a blog post, but many things have conspired to make me feel the need to write this. 

Being retired has given me considerably more time to contemplate personal and world events. Now that I don't need to stress about work I find myself reacting more vehemently to things that I read or see on tv. At the end of last week I started a new book - The Letter by Kathryn Hughes. Whilst it’s never going to pull up any trees in the literary world, or challenge for a Booker prize, the plight of its protagonists affected me in a primal way. One, living in the early seventies, was trapped in a marriage with a violent, manipulative and abusive man, whilst the other, in thirties Britain, had her life outcomes controlled and altered irrevocably by her equally controlling father. As I read, I became increasingly incensed and angry, but also anxious as I imagined how these characters were feeling - no doubt as the author intended. 

Then I watched Call the Midwife…On one level this is Sunday night tosh, but it also serves as a reminder of what life was like for some communities in the late fifties, early sixties. Again the storyline revolved around a woman in an abusive marriage who was effectively trapped because men had all the power, both socially and legally. In the way of Sunday night, pre-watershed dramas, an escape was found for her, although, in reality, the first women’s refuge did not open until the early seventies. Sometimes though, even they didn't help. If you can bear it, read this article about how the system continues to fail some women. 

Women's March, Chicago 

My reading of the book and my watching of the tv programme coincided with the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America. It will never cease to amaze me that this misogynistic and reactionary man was elected to the most powerful position in the Western world. His treatment of, and language around women has been abhorrent, and now he has the power to impact on their lives in a very real and scary way. I feel it especially keenly as my step son and his wife live in Chicago and will be directly affected by any chipping away of rights for individuals. 

It is difficult to believe how things have changed for women within my lifetime, but it is a constant battle to maintain rights that were hard fought for and won in the seventies. Every time funding is threatened for health and fertility advice and support, women suffer though ignorance and lack of care. Whatever your personal feelings are about abortion v. the pro-life debate, I am old enough to remember that if women and girls are desperate enough, they will seek to terminate a pregnancy in whatever way they can. Making it difficult for them to receive advice and care will not change the outcome, just the woman’s safety. And, however much we continue to do so, it is never possible to judge an individual’s situation and why they make the choices that they do.

I have been lucky in my life - my parents treated me, my sister and two brothers equally. We all grew up believing anything was possible. When my first marriage broke down, laws were in place that enabled me to extract myself from it, relatively painlessly, and society did not shun me or my children. I worked in an environment that was predominantly populated with woman, and progressed in my career as far as I wanted to, with equal pay and no apparent glass ceiling. Nobody told me I needed to wear particular shoes, make up or clothing, as reported on the BBC website this morning, and I largely felt, and feel valued as a person. I am remarried to a lovely man, who is not above cooking, cleaning and ironing (as long as it’s not  bed linen). I don't know if these things are true for every woman of my generation.

Womens' March, Chicago

I marched for Women’s Rights in the seventies and I fully support what the thousands of women (and men) across the World who marched on Saturday were saying. It appals me that Trump implied that these people had not voted in the recent election, simply because they were objecting to him. Women are humans first, women second, and as my daughter-in-law’s banner said, “Women’s rights are human rights”, and these rights should not be threatened or eroded by anyone.