I hope you live in a world without fear. Without the fear of walking at night alone with your mace clutched between your fingers. A world where you don’t second guess yourself as you look in the mirror in a short dress, with the thought that they will think you’re “asking for it” pressing down on you. Without the fear that leads you to huddle with your friends while passing a group of men triple your age sitting outside a bar, as they drop comments that make your skin crawl. I hope you never have to live in a world where the victim becomes the accused. I hope the fact that you a beautiful girl, will not be your fear. I hope you do not stay awake at night blaming yourself for getting drunk or for wearing a tight outfit. I hope you do not have to experience the fear that women all around me, including myself,struggle with every single day simply for being alive.
At this time I am only 18 and have seen injustices in the world that I could only have dreamed of. I watched as an accused man of sexual assault was inducted into the supreme court, just when my heart felt as if it could take no more. A brave, courageous, woman named Christine Blasey Ford came forward and told her truth about the sexual misconduct Brett Kavanaugh committed against her. Brett Kavanaugh was banned from teaching at Harvard Law School, yet inducted into the highest court. My heart broke for every single victim who had to watch that, it was a slap in the face to even me who has not had to go through the horror of what they have.
Christine Blasey Ford was one of the many brave women and men who came forward and told their stories of being sexually assaulted, this was known as the Me Too movement. We saw courageous men and women stepping forward, while shedding that courage on others who soon did the same. We saw big names who seemed untouchable accused. I would list their names, but that would be irrelevant as the real spotlight should be on those brave souls who came forward against them even if it meant reliving their pain.
Through all this pain, this injustice, the shock, the grieving I saw something bloom, something beyond special. Over the past couple years I’ve seen people come together in a way I never had before. I guess everyone just hit their breaking point you know? We were all fed up and done being quiet. So, people took to the streets and marched those streets with stride, making a racket. Chanting “Hey ho hey ho Donald Trump has got to go” to “It’s time to fight, Nasty girls unite”, this referring to an insult from Trump against HIllary Clinton that in the end sparked our resistance. These chants were screamed from the bottom of everybody’s heart and the top of everybody’s lungs at the very first Women’s March in 2017. More than two million people took to the streets in the US to sing the song in their heart and tear down the patriarchy that day, becoming the largest demonstration in US history. Not to mention more than 300,000 international marchers. The tradition continued in 2018 and the volume for sure did not decrease. I was unfortunately never able to make any of those, but was still completely emotionally affected and inspired. Just a couple months ago I attended The March Against Rape Culture right here in Philadelphia where people spoke about horrors I cannot fathom so bravely that it brought me to tears. Like many before me, I took to the streets and screamed as loud as I possibly could, for my sisters who were not able to use their voices.
I think right now is all the turning point, and I pray it is the turning point for the better. We cannot take anymore heartbreak, but if so I know we will never stop fighting. I will not stop fighting for you to not be afraid of the fact that you are a women. A quote that always sticks with me is “They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds”. It crushes my heart to think about this but if somehow the world is not fixed by the time you are born, “Scream, so that hundreds of years from now another sister will not have to dry her tears wondering where in history she lost her voice”, and I promise you that I will always be right next to you screaming. I love you and I know you will be a fighter, I’m your mother after all.