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The women's struggle began years ago and today women go to the polls to be part of important decisions: they can vote, demand and be heard, but ironically, many of the issues that gave rise to the feminist movement are still on the table today. .
During a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services, experts spoke about the challenges faced by women who aspire to and remain in public office, as well as workers' rights, wage parity, gun control, and reproductive rights.
Within the framework of International Women's Day, Maya Kornberg, a researcher in the Elections and Government program at the Brennan Center for Justice, commented that 90 percent of state legislators have suffered harassment, insults or discrimination, while half of Those in local office have also suffered abuse, with women of color being the most affected.
And, she said, women of color must take more precautions to feel healthy and safe when they are in public office.
?1 in 3 elected officials are being harassed or threatened because of their job; We must consider that more than 80 percent of elected officials are women. Does this become a threat from the principles of democracy? Kornberg commented.
Monica Simpson, executive director of Sister Song, an organization that fights for women's rights and reproductive health, pointed out that there is a current battle on the issue of access to abortion because, despite the prohibition in some states, the number of abortions has not decreased. abortions performed, on the contrary, the numbers grew in those where it is legal, putting the health of women who decide to practice it at risk.
According to a 2023 report, 1 in 5 patients are traveling outside their states to seek an abortion, putting pregnant people in a crisis that cannot be ignored.
?The struggle is real, because I have also had to fight and I must say that this affects Afro-descendant women more. They are experiencing ?deserts? of contraceptives, which means that we do not have to control our fertility?, Simpson stressed.
Assuring that in the health system, the outlook for Afro-descendant women is not favorable, she highlighted that very few have Medi-Cal, placing structural racism as the main barrier.
When you look ahead, she said, you can see that there is still a long way to go to achieve reproductive justice for every community in the United States, which is why she called to vote with a clear conscience in favor of women's rights.
In that sense, she explained that there are many women who have joined this fight, demanding the right to abortion, so the stories of women who decide to abort must be told, thus showing the reality, waiting for the stigma to disappear. and each woman is allowed to make decisions based on her own care.
Ai-Jen Poo, president of the National Alliance of Domestic Workers, explained that in the United States approximately 10,000 girls are born every day, but many more age and medical care is necessary for families, but especially for women who are older. vulnerable, since in many cases they are the ones who stay at home to care for the sick and elderly.
The need for care, he specified, whether in adults, the sick or children, is a key issue for the development of women, who are the most affected, which is why childcare is sought to be at an affordable cost for women. people who need it.
For the community of caregivers, the aim is to establish fair salaries and obtain policies that benefit this sector since, annually, the number of caregivers, young people who join guilds and unions to seek better working conditions, is growing.
The issue of care, Poo explained, is essential for the community, so it should be taken very seriously in the issues to be discussed during the elections, since there is not a single family that does not talk about care for the elderly, children, sick or people with disabilities. It is an issue that really worries communities.
"Any candidate who is paying attention to voters, we know that they will touch on this issue, showing a very clear idea of how they could support families in this matter and we hope that more candidates will get involved," said Ai-Jen Poo.
Shikha Hamilton, vice president of the Brady organization, explained that they seek to free America from gun violence by changing the laws that affect the community.
In this regard, she highlighted that women are the most active on this issue, since they are the ones who take to the streets to demand changes in Congress, forging a call for action that joins the movement.
Hamilton commented that he is helping to pass laws that benefit communities locally, in counties and at the state level, where those who marched are already current leaders, an example of this are 15 people who are now in public positions giving priority to issues of gun violence.
Freeing America from gun violence is basically a women's issue, Hamilton said, since they are the mothers who worry about their children in school and at work, in addition to being the ones who will always come out to demand justice in the event of the death of a child.
It is no secret that women are leading this movement, as they are the ones who have made gun violence a key issue in the Biden administration.
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