-
THE SILENCE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS GROUPS IS DEAFENING
May 10, 2017
As a little girl I admired how my father would hold the chair for my mother, hold the door for her to walk through and what I admired most was how he never cursed at or said any obscene language towards or about her or any other woman. He was always respectful of her and all women and girls. Of late I find myself longing for the decency of those days, particularly decency towards women.
I was baffled to hear the veil incest jokes (which were distasteful and not funny at all) from comedians Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher about Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Trump. What’s worse is the silence of many women’s rights groups that, through their silence, is showing public acceptance of these slanderous, inappropriate, lewd and tasteless comments disguised as jokes against a professional successful woman. I could probably understand if this silence was because it’s an isolated incident; however, we’ve seen time and time again veil comments made about conservative women such as Sarah Palin and her daughter.
Do these incest jokes and demeaning comments about women negatively impact the self-esteem, and self-worth of young girls and encourage young boys to feel they have an open field day to demoralize the female gender? Does the deafening silence of women’s rights groups really pave the way for women’s equality and decency in society? Women who fought all odds to pave the way, such as Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin who initiated the 19th Constitutional Amendment and a champion for the causes of gender equality and civil rights and Elizabeth Stanton a suffragist, would be ashamed at how their hard work for the advancement of women is being ignored by the very women they fought for.
If there was ever a time for women’s organizations to put down political walls and band together to reject these veil and lewd jokes by Colbert and Maher it’s NOW!
What good are women’s organizations if they do not take a strong stance for decency for their sisterhood? Silence perpetuate more vile attacks. My father used to say, “If you would not say those words to your wife, mother or sister, then don’t say it to someone else’s wife, mother or sister.
Jennifer Carroll
Former Lieutenant Governor