Nearly 160 years ago womyn were refused a seat at the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention held in London. It was thought at the time, that womyn were to remain silent in public. Throughout the past 160 years we, as womyn, have repeatedly learned that our conditions would never improve if we remained silent.

On October 15, 2000, a reported 25,000 womyn participated in the World March of Women 2000. The march sought to focus world attention on the plight of womyn, world wide. Speakers espoused abortion rights, economic, educational, social and religious parity. They denounced violence, war, poverty, genital mutilation, rape, and gender apartheid. Participants in the march were far from silent.

Of course this march, is one of many in a long continuum of marches in the herstory of womyn’s efforts to achieve full equality. This month we take time to recall a few past acts of defiance and indignation such as:

1966:  The National Organization of Womyn was founded by Betty Freidan in response to the failure of the EEOC to enforce Civil rights for women.
1968: Womyn protest the Miss America pageant.
1970: Womyn demonstrated to end the discrimination at McSorley’s Bar in NYC.
1974: Fifty womyn’s groups picketed the New York Times refusal to use the term Ms.
1978: One hundred thousand womyn demonstrated in D.C. to extend the deadline for passage of the E.R.A.
1979: Fifteen thousand womyn protest the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeni in Iran and the reintroduction of the chador, a heavy veil for womyn.
1981: Egyptian writer Nawal el Shadawi published papers criticizing the Arab world’s acceptance of the clitoridectomy (female genital mutilation).

Feminist acts of defiance and indignation could fill volumes. These acts are not celebrated or acknowledged by the patriarchy, nor by women who support the patriarchy. We must as feminists celebrate and acknowledge the courage involved in participating in acts of defiance and indignation. By so doing, we encourage other womyn to step forward to lift the fallen banner. If we are as a gender to take our rightful places in this country and the world, it is not acceptable that we remain silent.
 
Step forward. You will never be free if other women are subject to inequity. You mislead yourself to think otherwise.