In high school I read a book called "The Women's Room" by Marilyn French. If you have not read it yet, and you are a woman, I encourage you to do so. It painted a world of what it was like to be a woman in the 50's and 60's. This book combined with another book, "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving, is when my perspective of women, women's rights, and abortion were slowly starting to be formed.
Falling in love with women in history such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa, Margaret Sanger, Janis Joplin, Emily Dickinson, Anne Frank, Silvia Plath, Amelia Earhart, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and Jane Austen to name a few. Each one of these women inspiring me as a female, a woman in the making, a different way.
Now as a mother of a daughter, I try to raise her to be a confident, independent, woman who finds herself beautiful and intelligent. I do not want her to look for approval and love in the arms of a man, but rather in the reflection staring back at her.
As a mother of a son, I want to raise a man who is respectful, kind, patient and caring. A man who knows what "NO" means, never abuses, manipulates, or repress a partner that will share his life. Rather one that will be a partner to walk beside that person, not leading them but joining them.
As an American woman, I am thankful.
March is Women's History Month. I encourage every woman reading this to pick a female from history and learn about her. We, (American Women), have traveled a long path to get to where we are today.
Before I continue I want to set this straight for the record. I am Pro-Choice as set by Roe V. Wade. I believe in a woman's right to choose, and to do so without the judgement of another. It is a very personal, hard decision that should not be made by the government for a woman.
That said, there is no war on women in America.
Women around the world are not allowed to drive, vote, go to school, or even walk outside without a man.
We live in the United States of America, where I am not in fear of the government terminating my pregnancy because I already had one child.
We are not stoned to death when we are raped, because it is believed and perceived that we have tarnished our family's name.
In Morocco there is a law that allows rapists to marry their victims in order to avoid prosecution.
In the Middle East access to birth control is a joke. Here we have access to birth control.
Under Sharia law, husbands can beat their wives. The wives have no rights or ability to fight or protect themselves.
Women's genitalia are destroyed. Grown men rape young infant girls out of the belief that it will cure AIDS.
These are the items I consider to be war on women. Not if I am going to have to pay out of pocket for an abortion that is safe, legal, sterile and performed by a licensed physician. I will gladly pay out of pocket for birth control, the morning after pill, and any other service that is available to me as a woman in the United States.
Why? Because I am blessed to live where I do. My time, energy, and money to fight a war on women is better spent on education, humanity groups, and other ways of advocating for the 3 year old little girl who has to undergo life saving surgery for being raped; for the prevention of another 16 year old female from committing suicide because she was forced to marry her rapist.
I only ask that you take the time as an American woman to be thankful for what we have, and see the real war on women that occurs around the world every day.
