I graduated from K-State in 2007 with a dual degree in Women Studies and Sociology. The majority of my college career was focused on Sociology and learning more about the criminal justice system with a passion for working with juvenile delinquent girls. My junior year of school I took my first Women Studies course. I had always believed in equal rights for women but did not realize my passion for this until that class.
Women Studies opened my eyes to the on-going oppression of women not only in our own country but all over the world. I learned more about intimate partner violence and the different tactics used to control women into submission and fear. I learned that as a woman I would have to fight for my voice to be heard, to stand up for what I believe and to not allow a man to control what I did, said, wore or thought. Women studies and the women I met in those classes changed my life.
I have worked in the domestic violence field for almost 9 years. I have seen women beaten, bruised, broken and shut down in a way that is unimaginable. I have listened to women tell me about the ways their partner coerced them into having children, forced them to have an abortion, beat them so badly they miscarried or intentionally aimed straight for the stomach during every brutal attack. I have sat with women that cried when they realized they were pregnant. That shared they don't believe in abortion and because he would not allow her to be on birth control she now would give birth to his child and be connected to him forever.
These women's stories are why I believe so strongly in a woman's right to choose. I believe that each woman has a voice and should be able to make decisions that are right for their life and body.
In recent news, front-runner in the Republican Presidential race, Donald Trump, said "that women who seek abortions should be subject to “some form of punishment” if the procedure is banned in the United States" He went on to say that women may still have abortions in illegal places and have to be punished.
As I heard this news I sat in disbelief. How could we possibly live in a world that would punish a woman for doing what is right for herself and her body? How could we live a place that values women's choices so little? How could we go back to the 1950's when women had back alley abortions and died? It seems impossible but when people are supporting a candidate like Donald Trump it is very evident that this much more possible than I ever imagines.
Margaret Atwood wrote the famous book "The Handmaid's Tale". In this dystopian novel the United States has a fallen to a dictatorship that forces women of child bearing years to be raped, impregnated and forced to give their children to older of women of wealth that are not able to have babies of their own. Atwood looks at one woman's story. A young woman that had a life, a husband and a child. She was taken from all that she knew and forced to become a tool for breading.
When I read this book in College it seemed unfathomable. It was the reality of what could happen if someone was placed into power that had no value for women. That believed women were simply here to be controlled, raped and bear children. This book scared me but I knew it was just a book and not possible or is it?
My value as a woman is just as important as any man. Men get to chose everyday if they want to be involved in their children's lives, They do not have to be subjected to ridicule and judgment for choosing to not have children, for choosing to have a career, for making their own medical decisions. Yet women face this criticism and judgment on a daily basis. And we sit in silence and allow a man like Donald Trump to make statements that women should be jailed for choosing what is right for their life and give him the potential to run this county.
The stories of the women I have sat with and the reality of a world much like in "The Handmaid's Tale" should be enough for women and men to use their voice and stand up for what is right. We all deserve to live a life free of fear, oppression and hate.
I have dedicated my adult life to fighting for the rights of women. As my calling changes I know that the two are intertwined. I believe God is calling me to be a voice. To help people understand the challenges and oppression that women face everyday. To help people stand up for what is right and to not allow someone who claims to be of Christian faith to shame the Gospel of Christ. God is about love, mercy, grace acceptance and inclusion. Women are included this and deserve the same value that our world puts on men.
I have to believe that the little girl I am carrying will grow up in a world where she is allowed to make choices for herself, where she will not be forced to do anything she doesn't want to and where she will be valued just as much as her brother.
"The Handmaid's Tale" is an unfortunate depiction of what could happen if the right person got into power. We can't close our eyes to what is happening. We are called to fight for justice. Women have value, women deserve to have a voice and not be controlled and as a woman of faith I KNOW that God created me equally to my male counterpart and gave me the strength and bravery to stand up for what is right and fight for women.
It is time to be brave with me.
