I grew up in the late 1960’s when women were fighting hard for equality in the workplace. They had already achieved the right to vote some fifty years earlier. It was at that time, called the women’s suffrage movement. While the word suffrage was originally derived from the Latin word, suffragium, meaning “to support”, it sounds very much like suffering; and indeed, women have suffered immeasurably at the hands of men since the emergence of Christianity, and probably for a long time before that. I recently heard on NPR that one out of every five women will have been raped during her lifetime. This is not surprising.
For all the many steps forward we have taken, it seems we have had to take two steps back. While we have made great strides in expanding our presence in the job market, sexual harassment still goes on in the workplace. While a few men are supportive of women, there remains far too many who have turned to devious methods of getting even, because in their minds, their egos are threatened. And, while women have sought only to gain respect from men, in many cases they have received only contempt from them. Many women have been stalked, often by ex-boyfriends and husbands, because they stood up against being physically and sexually abused. We are still a long, long way from having true equality, but we can be grateful if we live in a country that has at least seen some progress in that direction. There are many places in the world, where women are still considered to be chattel.
Women have often been known to be jealous and cruel to one another, but it is more important than ever, to surround ourselves with female friends. We must become suffragettes once again, to support one another and to hold each other’s hands, forming a stronghold against those men who would abuse us. We must take our power back, but more importantly, we must teach our daughters to be strong. We must not hide the truth from them and we must teach them how to defend themselves, both physically and emotionally. We must give them the gift of self-respect. We must always, always, always, support one another.
