On Saturday, I marched alongside 50 thousand people for basic human rights for women across downtown Austin, TX.
For the first time ever, I took time out of my day, using my God given right and held a sign over my head saying ‘Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights’, the classic quote from Hillary Clinton.
To be honest, I was kind of scared.
Because of my lack of exposure to the real issues women face today, I’ve been in a cloud of misconception which has been swirled by the very notion that ‘everything is okay, now.’ The idea that women don’t face the same issues today than they did 1960s kept me from seeing the truth – rights for women still have a long way to go.
Women still don’t have equal pay. Even though the Equal Pay Act of 1963 required men and women to be paid the same for the same amount of work, the act is completely disregarded in several establishments.
Women still aren’t able to choose what they want to do with their body. Under the new administration of president Trump, planned parenthood is at stake with less funding and possible termination.
Women still are not viewed equally as their male counterparts. In a recent study, the Pew Research Center found that 53 percent of people believed that men will continue to hold their business executive position than women in the future.
If all of these issues combined don’t make you want to rip your hair out, something is wrong with you. Women are human beings and, up until now, we have been under the illusion that all of the problems proposed above have been solved. Pew suggests that women are held to a higher standard than men. Why? Is the gender itself viewed at a lesser capability than a males? In other words, are women just dumber!
Perhaps, it is time to take off the blindfold- it’s not happily ever after, yet.
I marched for the woman to the side of me. Even though I don’t partake in issues like planned parenthood, I will stand for those for whom it does affect. Even though I am not in the workforce yet, I will stand alongside the woman who wants to be the CEO of a major corporation. And even though I have the opportunity to stand next to my male peers, I will never know if my intellect may be judged because of my gender.
So, I’ll stand. It’s your right- use it.
