Equal Enough?

I grew up thinking that I could do or be anything that I set my mind to.  I grew up thinking that I could do anything that a man can do and do it in heels.  Then, when I was grown up, I realized what it took for women to be able to think that way.  My Aunt Lee, who currently resides in Georgia, was an escort for a Women's Clinic in the '80's.  She wore a bulletproof vest sometimes because there were people that wanted her to die because she wanted women to have access to safe and reliable health care.  She marches at the state capitol (in fact, they are marching on April 28, 2012), she attends rallies fighting for future women.  I had never met a male feminist before until my Uncle Ron.  Of course, my Aunt Lee would only marry a man that believed that she was his equal.  He fights for women's rights along side of her.  I say all of these things because before I got to know them on an adult level and see what the process was in order for women to vote, women to join the military, women to decide their own medical futures, I had no idea what it meant to be a woman and have to fight to just be equal.  Well, that fight is not over.  Lately, maybe because I am paying more attention, I have been seeing the encroaching oppression.

I am so lucky to have been born in the United States.  I understand that there are women in parts of the world that, because they are raped, have dishonored their family and therefore killed in order to restore their honor.  Women are bought and sold in Eastern Europe like cattle.  Women sexually mutilated in China and Egypt.  Because of these horrors worldwide, I understand why a woman/man would say that we are equal enough.  We should be thankful that we don't have to deal with those things.  Maybe that is true.  But, reading an article by Soraya Chemaly, I realized that she is absolutely correct.  She is addressing all women and men that believe that women are capable of making their own decisions.  Regardless of the issue, a woman can decide for herself.  Whether that means to decide to join the military, have a family, not to have a family, to have a career, to get married, not to marry, whatever.  A woman is an intelligent being, an independent being that does not need a man or another woman to tell her how to live her life.  Women are strong, resilient, and creative.  We need government to stay out of our heads.  We don't need legislation to let us know what to decide, or what not to decide.

The Violence Against Women Act has been passed through Congress several times.  But, this time, there is a delay because many Republicans don't feel that we need to include ALL women.  If a lesbian is in a violent relationship, she cannot go to a shelter because most are for straight women only.  If an American Indian woman is beaten by her husband, police are slower to respond because of budget cuts.  The Republicans do not want to edit the bill to include lesbians, American Indians, or undocumented women.  If you aren't a citizen, you are not entitled to help if your significant other decides to turn your face into a punching bag.  Too bad....if you had been born here, we could have helped you.  We have to stop making women's rights a favor bestowed upon us by men.  There are too many of us to stand idly by and let them decide what is right.  My Aunt and Uncle are fighting too hard for all of us to let the current Congress and House of Representatives tear it apart with their rhetoric and bias.  We have to take what is ours.  We have to use our collective power.  We have to vote.  We have to shout.  And, we DEFINITELY need to misbehave a little.