This week has been a whirlwind for feminism. At the start, we saw a wave of celebrations and the championing of women from our friends, families, and celebrities across social media. But in a disturbing turn of events, we then saw a woman not only defend herself against the tide of malicious media in an interview that gripped both this nation and America, but who was then further ridiculed by the very body that she expressed to have already caused her so much suffering. After this, the terrible news of Sarah Everard left women [and men] across the country in a state of grief, anger, and betrayal. This tragic event was followed by the release of a statistic from The Guardian that showed in a survey of 1000 women, 97% confirmed to have experienced sexual harassment and/or assault. My heart, condolences, and wishes of regard go out to all those that knew Sarah, and to all of those who have been affected by this story.
Over the remainder of the week I found myself riddled with heartbreak, confusion, and despair. I started to question when, if ever, women will be able to just be without constant pressures of antagonism, violence, and judgement. And even more shockingly, when will women be able to activate their most basic human right of being able to simply walk home safely. I know that I am not alone in these feelings, and I know that others too will be questioning right now how we are still having to fight for the seemingly simple justice of equality. “How are we still having to raise awareness and voice our fury at the inability to have access to the security of being able to just walk?”. These are the questions that have muddled through my brain the last week, and questions that have left me feeling both hopeless and utterly betrayed. Betrayed by an institution whose sole job is to protect, perpetuated by their horrific response to the vigil held on Saturday the 13th, but also, betrayed by the deafening silence of some of my male friends and family members. Understanding that others too will be sharing in my current mindset, I started to consider ways that we can, and must, retain hope in the prosperity of feminism and the future trajectory of our society and world, particularly during a week that has been filled with so much heartbreak and suffering.
The first assurance that came to mind after this turbulent week was the sharing on social media of a tweet that asked what men can do to help women feel more safe on the streets. A simple gesture of alliance that resulted in waves of responses, and a wave of gratitude. (For any male-identifying readers, the most common answers included: crossing the road, making noise – i.e taking a phone call to show that you are not sneaking up on a woman, and offering to walk a female-identifying friend or partner home). I stress female-identifying here as trans people are still facing devastating amounts of public abuse. This gesture was since met with an influx of male activism, a sight that instilled me with great hope as men started to recognise that for women, the stories of this week are not one-off events, but rather, our everyday lived experiences. And further, that men were starting to recognise and appreciate their role in conquering this pandemic of violence. If we have learnt anything from the past week, it is that change can never be wholly achieved unless men step-up as allies in the fight for gender equality.
The second thing that enabled me to sustain my hope this week was to remember how far we have already come. While the world is in no way a perfect state yet, and yes there is still so much work to be done, we are improving. Saudi Arabia’s law in 2019 that enabled women to start driving, on its surface, appeared incomprehensibly late in this country, but it marked a huge change in theirs, and that marks a huge change for feminism. The world is changing, and with the recent emergence of more men wanting to learn how to position themselves as allies to women, it gives me hope that the speed of this trajectory may increase.
Finally, let us not forget that an article published by The Guardian in August 2020 announced that countries led by women were handling the Covid-19 pandemic better than those led by men. Most notable were Jacinda Arden and Angela Merkel. As stated, ‘the analysis of 194 countries, published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum, suggests the difference is real and “may be explained by the proactive and coordinated policy responses” adopted by female leaders.’ This news proves that in light of everything, women are thriving, and we are not only making history, but we are building a better future. In light of this and the other points raised, while we have faced a difficult week, I hope that your optimism for a better world (along with justice itself) will prevail. And remember, however you are feeling right now you are not alone, and there is always somebody to help.
I would like to end this article by once again expressing my condolences to all that knew and were close to Sarah Everard, and I hope that the responses across social media may, in time, bring you some comfort that her death was not in vain.