We are not in the dark ages anymore. The patriarchy is slowly deteriorating. Women are striving for equality everywhere. Women have a voice, and it is only becoming louder and stronger from here.
Emma Watson, best known as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, is a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador. She gave an influential speech at the U.N. General Assembly about university parity.
Watson said schools are implying the message, “That sexual violence isn’t actually a form violence.”
For instance, the Brock Turner (“former Stanford swimmer”) case caused an uproar with views on sexual abuse. Back in 2015, Turner sexually assaulted an unconscious woman at a Stanford University fraternity party. In March 2016, Turner was convicted of sexual assault. His sentence was only six months in prison, which turned into three months with good behavior. Many thought was too lenient.
But what enraged people was the reasoning behind his light sentence.
According to the Guardian, the judge on Turner’s case said, “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him… I think he will not be a danger to others.”
Judge Persky only stated he would not be a danger because of how he had no criminal record, and how it would be such a shame to ruin a young person’s life.
Turner’s father wrote a letter saying, “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.”
No, his life will never be the same. Neither will the victim’s life!
Three months in prison–that is it. Just because Turner was a hopeful Olympic swimmer does not mean he deserves special treatment. It took him 20 minutes to ruin a girl’s life forever. Yes, he has to register as a sex offender and mark it on every job application, but that is what he deserves. He stole a woman’s sense of security, and people like Judge Persky and Turner’s father are the reason there is no equality for women.
The victim wrote, “You have dragged me through this hell with you, dipped me back into that night again and again. You knocked down both our towers, I collapsed at the same time you did. Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.”
The victim spoke her mind so eloquently that people listened. She used her voice to show this situation was wrong. Her letter made people think about what is truly happening on campuses.
Watson also expressed that at some universities, women are not given equal opportunities as men. Such as in leadership positions or even acceptance into a university.
Yet, the times are changing because women are speaking up. Change is happening right here at Texas A&M University.
For the first time in the history of Texas A&M, all top student leadership positions are held by women.
According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, Hannah Wimberly, student body president at Texas A&M, said, “It’s something I owe and we all owe to the women who have come before us and have made these great strides.”
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Amy Smith said, ”It’s extremely significant that we have this, and it really shows the beauty of Texas A&M University because I guess people wouldn’t think that with it starting as an all-male military land grant school, but the truth is I find a strong presence of women.”
Being a college student and a woman, I have felt fear that no man would ever feel. Just walking to my car from the library late at night, I have to be cautious. Why? Because rape happens. I want to be able to feel safe on campus, and don’t want to feel the need to call a corps escort when I feel unsafe. By no means do I want assault to happen to men. I want it to stop completely. Victims need to speak up about what happened to them, and people need to understand it is a terrible issue that must be fixed.
As Watson said, “when one person’s safety is violated, everyone feels their own safety is violated.”
Watson explained how Brown University became her home and how her experience shaped who she was, but there needs to be change. Watson proposed to, “Make it clear that the safety of women, minorities and anyone who may be vulnerable, is a right, not a privilege.”
I certainly believe universities have the voice to change this inequality that society has seen for way too long. Whether it is a movie star’s speech, a victim’s letter, or three female leaders at Texas A&M–all it takes is a united voice for parity.