100 Years - Another call to arms
This week marked 100 years since (most) women took the right to vote in the UK. An important anniversary, undoubtedly, and one which is difficult to let pass without also dwelling on our present, and future. It was great to see so much solidarity spread across social media, workplaces, and parliaments alike, where both women and men were standing up to applaud the bravery of the suffragettes, and to stand in solidarity with all women, now and in the future. However, there was also an overwhelming undercurrent developing that we, as a society, can, and should, do more.
Some are asking what the world will be like for women after the passing of another century, in 2118, assuming we aren’t all reeling in the aftermath of some war or environmental decay. But ignoring such pessimism, what type of future could we strive for?
It seems apt I’m reading Margaret Atwood’s, the Handmaid’s Tale (now an award-winning TV show) at the moment of writing, and I must admit I’m slightly ashamed it has taken me this long to lift it off my bookshelf. It’s certainly an impactful page-turner that is wonderfully written, but importantly, like many types of speculative fiction, it is such a powerful story because elements of it ring scarily true in today’s world – even though the novel was published in 1986. In a world where women are subjugated, viewed as property and denied rights, the novel could be viewed as a microcosm of the oppression women still face in many parts of the world, and of the equality we are yet to achieve in 2018. It is a tale of authoritarianism where everyone is told their place, their duty, and expected to follow orders, facing heinous consequences if they disobey. We should not forget that such struggles still exist and that not so long ago the UK was itself guilty of similar oppression.
So, while things have moved on from such a scenario, what will the next 100 years bring? Some will say that we already have equality and that the battle has been won, so why do we still need feminism? They insist: we can vote, work, earn a living, and decide what we can do with our bodies – what more could we want or need? How could we possibly feel oppressed? Why can’t we just stop being such sensitive snowflakes! But those scared of addressing such inequality are surely those who misunderstand the depth of the problem, or simply choose to ignore it because it remains an uncomfortable truth that may reflect badly on them in some way. Yes, we can vote in the UK, but women’s voices are still not heard or respected equally. We can earn a living, but we are continually pushing for pay parity. Our bodies may legally be our own property, yet women still face significant limitations: unfair abortion legislation, the tampon tax, societal objectification, and weak penalties for sexual assault and domestic violence. The list could go on, but the fact is women are still fighting every day for true equality and freedom.
Increasingly, the word feminist has become associated as an offensive term from the far-right of society, and sometimes within the media. Indeed, a YouGov survey in 2015 showed that 1 in 5 people would even consider being called a ‘feminist’ an insult. Going further, the term ‘Feminazi’ was invented by those who wanted to invalidate women’s voices, and sadly has entered common usage. Suffragettes 100 years ago would have suffered such scorn, though admittedly today the sentiment is not so widespread, and the oppression not quite so nasty or violent. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t push for more. I am hopeful that such terms will eventually fall out of usage and that in 2118, women not being able to vote will be as outlandish as women being unequal in their daily life.
Largely, in my own day to day life, I rarely feel the subject of oppression, but it does happen. I generally have support from the women and men in my life; my friends, family, colleagues. However, my own experience does not mean that others don’t experience it to a worse degree: facing misogynist comments, being put down in the workplace, becoming the brunt of a joke, being ignored or ‘mansplained’, being made to feel our opinions are less worthy, whistled at on the street, followed home, having space invaded, groped, assaulted, exploited, raped, trafficked, or killed. I personally haven’t been subjected to all of these things, but I have experienced more than I care to think about. These acts still happen in today’s world, and in today’s Britain. Yes, we admonish, morally and legally, those who commit many of these acts (to a varying degree). Yet, the closer to the beginning of such a spectrum you go, the idea of ‘what is acceptable’ becomes increasingly blurred. But it is the collective nature of these acts that create a systemic culture of oppression. The more we ignore or brush away a perceived harmless comment or joke, the more it diminishes the severity of acts further down the line.
When the number of cases of sexual violence in Scotland rises steadily each year, while non-sexual violence crimes reduce; when 1 in 5 women in Scotland (1 in 3 globally) have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives; and when potentially tens of thousands are victims of modern day slavery in the UK (a large majority of them women), then there is something wrong with our society and how we educate.
The #MeToo movement really shone a light on how widespread sexual violence is. The Harvey Weinstein scandal threw in a whole range of conflicting views, and started a conversation in a sector where there has been an increasing string of revelations over the behaviour of some of its key figures and influencers. While there has been a lot of solidarity and support for these women, some continue to make jokes of, or downplay accusations from numerous victims, and every day discussions and debates show that there is still scepticism placed on women who come forward, no matter the evidence or the scale. True, there are occasionally cases where individuals lie about or exaggerate crimes, but despite this being a clear minority, sadly it is these cases that the media grabs on to, to try and invalidate or raise questions about genuine claims. We do not so readily do this with any other crimes. People are far quicker to call “innocent until proven guilty” in cases of sexual violence, the same way that people who spout hateful comments are quick to shout “freedom of speech”.
The past few years have seen so many high profile cases grab the limelight of western media: the case of Brock Turner, a swimmer from Stanford found guilty of assault, receiving only a six month sentence, and still gaining sympathy from a lot of media worried about his future; the Westminster sexual harassment scandal leading to numerous resignations, including previous defence secretary Michael Fallon; singer Keisha’s court case win against a producer who had effectively held her career hostage after sexually assaulting her; Harvey Weinstein (speaks for itself); Trump’s shameless jokes about sexual assault; the recent President’s Club scandal embroiling many high profile political and business figures in the UK...the list goes on and all the time new cases are being uncovered. While these have all occurred in the public world, we can be sure that there is a myriad of hidden cases happening all around us.
It's worth also mentioning some countries were far behind the UK and other European nations in granting the vote to women and some of the timeframes are quite shocking: Portugal in 1974, Switzerland in 1971, Italy in 1946 and France in 1944. In other western countries, women’s rights continue to be a more contentious issue, with Poland for example taking a backwards step recently over sexual and reproductive rights. Some have also called Trump’s presidency of the UK ‘the worst we’ve seen for women’, and there would be little surprise to see the trend continue. I would hope that the UK will never follow in the superpower’s footsteps, and that society can get behind the women’s rights movement in the years to come.
So, the past 100 years have seen so many changes and I hope the next century will bring more positive ones. There are many battles yet to be fought, barriers yet to be broken down, struggles yet to understand and remedy, agnostics and deniers yet to persuade and convert. We all have a huge mission on our hands to achieve real gender parity, and this week I’ve been heartened to see so many people united in such a mission. 100 years ago, women took the vote. In 100 more who knows what we could achieve.
Feature image: Wikipedia [CC0 1.0]
