Remember “I am Woman!”

Years ago, a song burst upon the music scene called “I am woman.” The song became the anthem for the women’s rights, several years before women gained the right to control their own reproductive rights, before women could get credit in their own names, be hired for many, many, jobs they can hold today and so many other things.

It talked about women reaching the numbers that they couldn’t be ignored and refused to go back to the way things had been. Women are flexible but they will keep fighting because they recognize that not everyone is willing to let them become citizens. It also comments that since women have gained rights, they know the price they’ve paid, and they can do anything.

I feel that this is a song that needs to return as the anthem for women since it does not seem as if the Supreme Court and many republicans are listening to their constituents. The judges who overturned Roe vs Wade seem to have listened to the minority, not the majority, and have decided to follow their own agenda.

Due to this, women have begun losing certain rights they’ve had for over 50 years. If the Supreme Court continues using societal norms from the time of the 14th amendment, women could lose their right to vote, their right to make the same amount of money for the same work, allow segregation to return in society and in schools, allow women to have the right to credit in their own name, and the right not to be treated as property.

Please don’t tell me that this is not a possibility. We know that at least one of the judges belonged to a group that was basically fundamental in it’s beliefs of specific roles for men and women. We saw the Supreme Court eliminate the separation of church and state by allowing prayer in public schools and using public funding for private religious schools.

We’ve seen decisions come from the justices that seem to acknowledge the demands of various minority groups rather than the reality of those who work hard for minimum wage, who cannot afford health care because many of the clinics that provided it are now closed, who have been told their voices don’t count.

I am woman. Will you hear me roar? Will you listen as I stand toe to toe with others? Or will you pat me on the head telling me I don’t know anything and these decisions being made are the best for me? It won’t matter because there are those of us who will continue paying the price as we lose the ground we gained earlier. At this rate, my voice will be ignored and my struggle will continue. Thank you.