America continues to progress in modern advancements and is making strides towards the inclusion of certain minorities but the mistreatment and violation of women and their rights are at a standstill. Women’s History Month has officially ended but their struggles are far from over.
On March 24, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously overturned Francios Momolu Khalil’s 2019 criminal sexual conduct conviction. The court said because the victim was “voluntarily intoxicated,” she did not meet the requirements to be considered mentally incapacitated under state law.
This disgusting, inhumane ruling will give Khalil a new trial and has sparked an uproar among women’s rights groups and sexual assault survivors.
This outrageous ruling undermines and violates the rights of women everywhere. Sadly, Minnesota is one of approximately 40 states in the country that have similar legislature regarding voluntary intoxication and sex.
This particular situation is just one of thousands where women’s rights are being violated across the nation. Women are under attack.
The recently appointed, unable-to-list-our-amendments “justice” Amy Coney Barrett has vocalized her support of overturning Roe v. Wade which would make it illegal for women to choose whether or not they want to get an abortion.
Certain states have also proposed anti-abortion bills and have found loopholes in the system to make it difficult for women to safely seek out these medical procedures.
Lawmakers, a majority of whom are men, are constantly violating women’s rights to choose what they want to do with their own body. Their bigoted involvement drastically affects women and negatively impacts their lives.
Meanwhile the “administrators of the law” remain unaffected by any of these injustices.
We are all entitled to human rights. The 14th Amendment means states must treat all their citizens equally. Yet, women and girls across the country continue to be discriminated against solely because of their gender.
The evils that terrorize women include domestic and sexual assault, massive wage gaps, human trafficking, lack of access to education and inadequate healthcare.
Instead of moving forward for women, we are speeding back to the past.
Many women have voiced their wariness of feeling like this country is heading towards a life mirroring the one depicted in Margaret Atwood’s book “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The novel, recently turned into a Hulu television show, is an American dystopian tragedy that we are getting dangerously close to.
In the book and show, women no longer have a voice, are stripped of all their rights and are subordinates to the men in power. They are forced into groups determined by their ability to produce offspring.
While this may seem like a far-fetched fictional tale, the path this country is on is certainly one that could lead us there.
In a study done at the University of Utah, state legislatures have enacted more than 250 abortion-related laws across 45 states between January 2017 and November 2020.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that each year, between 4.7%-13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions.
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that nearly one in five women have experienced attempted rape during her lifetime.
The CDC findings also say one in three female rape victims experienced the assault for the first time between 11 and 17 years old.
One in eight female rape victims reported that it occurred before the age of ten.
According to STOP THE TRAFFIK, a pioneer in the fight against human trafficking, of the estimated 40.3 million victims of human trafficking in a given year, 71% are women and girls.
The facts of the matter is that restrictions on basic rights like abortion or sexual assault towards women directly contribute to the unnecessary deaths of women.
Mothers, sisters and daughters- women matter and make a difference in society every day.
On Jan. 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of former President Donald Trump, a worldwide protest known as The Women’s March kicked off a movement fighting for gender equality and civil rights. It was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
Since then, Women’s March’s mission has been committed to dismantling systems of oppression against women.
This country needs to wake up and join that fight.
It is time for citizens and lawmakers alike to realize that women are vital contributors to society and their lives matter.
Every ruling, every law and every supported hate-filled thought that violates these rights is putting women in danger every day and the nation gets one step closer to a future where women lose everything.
Women must be protected. The clock is ticking.
