We must fight to protect women’s rights

As we mark the centenary of women’s suffrage, it is important to reflect upon the gains that the feminist movement has made in the last one hundred years. It is essential now more than ever to remind ourselves what the last three generations of women have fought and died for, and to consider what challenges face us now as we continue to protect women’s rights.

We are a lucky generation of women because so many battles have been won already. And while we face new challenges of our own in the technological age, one of the most important things we must do is defend the rights we already have.

In the past year, I read Margaret Atwood’s novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. For those who have not read it or seen the television series of the same name, it depicts a terrifying view of a totalitarian Christian theonomy that has taken over the U.S government. Women are categorised as cooks, infertile wives, and breeders (handmaids).

One of the most compelling parts of the story is how it happened. There is a military coup, women’s assets are frozen and control of them is transferred to their male next of kin (husband, father, brother etc.).

We must never take the women’s rights we have for granted, because all it takes is one government to legislate and remove them

Atwood published this novel in 1985, but it is incredibly insightful in its foresight of the dangers of technology. In our modern world where everything is done electronically, it occurred to me just how easy it would be to do something like this. The novel reminded me that we must never be complacent. We must never take the women’s rights we have for granted, because all it takes is one government to legislate and remove them.

This was particularly potent, as I was reading this around the time that Donald Trump began removing federal funding from organisations like Planned Parenthood that offered abortion procedures. This is an assault on women’s rights to own and control their bodies. Whatever your opinions about abortion, reproduction and autonomy of our bodies have always been a battleground for women, and this began the chipping away of established and hard-fought-for rights.

We must expose continued inequality, educate, and defend our existing rights

That is why it’s so essential that women raise their voices. One of the most important ways this can be done is through journalism. We live in an era of “post-truth” and “fake news”, and it is imperative that women are part of the resistance to the corruption of journalistic integrity. It is our responsibility to produce high quality and accurate journalism that illuminates instances where our rights are under siege, or to elevate and validate women and their stories, be they good or bad. We must expose continued inequality, educate, and defend our existing rights.

Ladies, pick up your pens, because women’s rights are human rights, and we can start right now. If you would like to write for The Boar, contact us via Facebook or email.