“Why do we even need a Women’s History Month?” I’ve heard skeptical women my own age ask. Perhaps that’s because we are the beneficiaries of a long – and on-going – struggle for equal rights. We grew up in a world where women have the right to vote, where domestic violence is considered a crime. That was not always so, and still is not the case in many places in the world.

I stand in solidarity with all women fighting for equal rights, including the right to live free of abuse. The fact is that women, throughout their lives, are overwhelming and disproportionately victims of violence. There are so many reasons this is so, including unjust systems and entrenched attitudes. We need to recognize that the struggle continues. We need to drive change.

In spite of accounting for more than half the world’s population, women have been invisible in history books and halls of power. In my mind, Women’s History Month serves as one way to shine a light on the achievements and struggles of women over the centuries and around the globe. It reminds us to keep clamoring for justice.

Maliha Janjua

Program Supervisor

Women Aware

Madeline Albright’s article, My Undiplomatic Moment, gave me a moment of pause. The feminist revolution, like any battle, was not always pretty but it always took courage. Challenging the status quo is not for the faint of heart. Pioneers pave the way for the next generation to inherit the benefits without the sacrifice. In the domestic violence movement there was a time when we did not have emergency shelters, hotlines and all of the many comprehensive services that we routinely provide today. There weren’t laws requiring mandatory arrests and applications for restraining orders. Domestic violence was not even a common place term. As Gloria Steinem once reminded me, “Before the women’s rights movement, domestic violence was called life”. To all of those glorious people who have spent their lives protecting the marginalized, given a voice to the silent and abused, I want to say thank you. Thank you for the lives that your words have saved. And one more thing, Ms. Albright, you have earned the right for an undiplomatic moment.

Phyllis Adams, MSW, MA, DVS
Executive Director, Women Aware