Staffer Discusses Women Fighting for Equal Rights to Men

It was still dark when my mom drove me to school in December. My converse-clad feet were resting on top of my torn backpack on the floor, and I was anxiously tapping my fingers against my leg, worried that I wouldn’t have enough time to make up a test. National Public Radio was playing on low volume, but that didn’t stop me from hearing someone, a woman, state that it was not possible for a woman to become president of the United States.

My fingers went still as I turned it up.

She went on to state that, although she herself was a woman, women could not handle the responsibilities of being president because the pressure would be too much for them.

That was the first time I had ever heard a sexist remark. I grew up learning about the women’s suffrage movement and seeing black and white pictures of its protests in text books. But those were history books, where everything has already happened and been resolved. Never did I think that I would hear a sexist remark in today’s society.

“Hillary Clinton ran for president,” I said to my mom. “And Sarah Palin came close to being our vice president. What woman would say that about women in general?”

With one block to go until we reached school, she gave me a brief, watered down version of how that remark would have once been the norm. She told me about the Equal Rights Amendment and Women’s History Month.

“But,” I said, “it’s practically 2012.”

Now it actually is 2012, and society has led me to believe that women are equal to men in every possible way. I’ve grown up with women reporting the news on TV, female doctors giving me shot and female athletes competing in the Olympics. I’ve also been led to believe that sexism was over when I was allowed to play on soccer and softball teams, and watch girls in my grade run for Student Council.

But I never realized that a woman makes 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. Or that the availability of contraception could be debated by a group of politicians.

Why it’s being debated at all is beyond me. Aren’t there more important things for our politicians to be spending their time and money on? Like the our economy, or violence in the Middle East or our educational system? What’s even more ridiculous is the fact that the group of politicians consisted entirely of men. This panel of men was called to discuss the merits of  including contraception in a woman’s insurance plan. And yet not one woman was present at this debate.

Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown University, was invited to testify in favor of the insurance plan that included contraception. This was only after she had been denied the right to speak at the original congressional hearing. She told the stories of women, her own friends, who had severe health problems as a result from lack of contraception. Contraception isn’t just used to prevent a pregnancy, but to treat women with serious health issues. A woman might need it for polycystic ovary syndrome or endometriosis, conditions with hormonal imbalances. They might need it to keep their reproductive organs functional, and prevent cysts from growing on their ovaries, like Fluke stated. Chances of being diagnosed with cancers like endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer can be reduced if taking contraception.

Then, well-known radio commentator Rush Limbaugh called her a slut and a prostitute despite the fact that she never mentioned using contraception purely for the sake of having safe sex. Some women have serious health issues, and contraception is a way to treat it. So contraception isn’t just for “sluts” and “prostitutes.” Fluke stood by that belief, and as a result, she was attacked by the ignorant commentator.

I simply can’t grasp the idea that a woman can fight alongside a man in Iraq, but can’t have a say on the decision to include birth control in her insurance plan. I can’t figure out why a woman would be called a slut because she stood up for contraception. I can’t believe that women are being denied access to basic health care that they need to save their lives.

Limbaugh only apologized after several of his sponsors dropped their support for his show.

This string of events reached a national stage in March, which, ironically, is Women’s History Month. When the Kansas City Star published a series of articles concerning Fluke and Limbaugh, my mom wrote a letter to the editor, expressing her concerns. She was and remains upset, as am I, that an issue between a woman and her doctor has become a topic for male politicians to debate and pick apart.

I’ve grown up with a modern day feminist — my mom. In fact, in 1991, my mom founded an organization called the Women’s Collective with the goal of helping women identify and achieve their personal goals. There were over 300 people involved, but when I was born in 1995, my mom had to discontinue it — it took up all of her time and it cost too much. Today both she and my grandma are members of True Blue Women, an organization that educates women about political issues. My great-grandmother was also involved in women’s rights. She was a member of the Common Cause and the American Association of University Women. The main goal of these organizations was to urge women to vote.

Although women have gained so much political ground in the past 200 years, the one thing that could help them achieve full equality is the adoption of the long-dormant Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was written in 1923, three years after women gained the right to vote, and states that women shall be treated equal to men throughout the United States. It was passed by Congress in 1972, but failed to receive enough state ratifications, so it was not adopted.

Another issue for women’s rights is the fight for equal pay. Technically women should receive the same pay as men, thanks to the Equal Pay Act. But a woman in the same job position as a man still only makes 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. The passing of the ERA would hopefully help solve this issue as well as others.

Next year will be 2013, and chances are that women will still not be equal to men. I’ve grown up with strong women and supporters of women, and I’m fortunate to be aware of the rights that I have, and the rights that I don’t. I hope that the ERA will be passed in my lifetime, and who knows, maybe I’ll help get it ratified. And hopefully we will be one step closer to convincing more people that a woman is just as capable of being president of the U.S. as any man.