Take to the streets

As we embark toward home or to the far-off beaches that are our spring break destinations, it will be difficult to relax knowing that pandemonium and protests are sweeping across the world and through the nation. In Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, oppressed people are fighting for their basic freedoms under regimes that sought to repress Internet use and assert control through violent military tactics. In Wisconsin, teachers battle the crippling school budget cuts that severely threaten the public education system as a whole. And closer to home in Washington, D.C. and New York, pro-choice supporters have marched in the streets to show their solidarity with Planned Parenthood since the organization has been threatened with significant defunding by House Republicans in their 2011 budget proposal. The Columbia students I know who marched downtown last week for Planned Parenthood reported that the crowd was large and lively in spite of the bitter cold. But what connects these demonstrations across the globe and unites them in a common spirit of protest?

Certainly there are several answers to this question, though one in particular applies directly to the majority of the Columbia community: the issue of women’s rights. Though Egypt used to be considered one of the most forward-thinking nations in its region on the issue of gender equality, its society became more devout in recent years, and women suffered from an increase in sexual harassment and persecution for not wearing a veil in public, as well as a resurgence in the practice of genital mutilation. The World Economic Forum discovered that 42 percent of Egyptian women are unable to read or write. Women’s political activity has been sharply limited by low voter turnouts and few seats in the parliament are held by women. But Mozn Hassan, executive director of the Egyptian organization Nazra for Feminist Studies, expressed hope and optimism that the spirit of activism among women—veiled and unveiled—at the protests in Tahrir Square will lead to structural changes in women’s rights legislation. The New York Times quoted Ms. Hassan, who said, “The same men they were afraid to talk to in the streets were saying, ‘Bravo, the girls’ revolution!’”

Though the voices we hear on the news from Wisconsin are often those of male lawmakers or heads of teachers’ unions, there is a real potential for another “girls’ revolution.” If the proposed school budget cuts are put into practice, many schools in the state will be forced to shut down or consolidate. Considering the contraction of the payroll, there will be massive layoffs of public school teachers. Not only does this threaten students, families, and teachers at large, but also it particularly targets women. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2009, the third most popular occupation for women is teaching in middle or elementary school. These schools employ nearly 2.5 million American women. Furthermore, women comprise 82 percent of all middle and elementary school teachers. The budget cuts will disproportionately affect the female working population, which is perhaps mistakenly seen as less than vital to the economic solvency of the family unit. Women, who make up over three quarters of America’s teachers, have had the most reason to protest in Wisconsin and fight for important jobs that Governor Scott Walker would rather dismiss as “women’s work.”

The protests in New York and Washington, D.C. against what is essentially the gutting of Planned Parenthood are explicitly in defense of women’s reproductive rights. Representative Mike Pence (R-I.N.) attached an amendment to a budget plan that assaults women’s health and freedom by barring any funding for Planned Parenthood. Even with the current bill, Title X—a government program that provides family planning services—would lose its federal support. Columbia students might well be affected by this loss, and the low-income neighborhoods in Harlem and Morningside Heights would be some of the first to suffer. In an article titled “The War on Women,” the New York Times editorial board wrote that the budget would remove programs “for low-income women that provide birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and testing for H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted diseases” which would “result in some 400,000 more abortions a year.”

Since their successful storming of Versailles at the start of the French Revolution, women have had a distinct place in the culture of revolutions and protests. Furthermore, with the spread of peaceful protests in the latter half of the 20th century, women have been able to be even more active and visible. Now, women’s rights issues are at the heart of the most important conflicts going on across the city, the country, and the world. So what better activity to do on spring break than take to the streets?

Amanda Gutterman is a Columbia College sophomore majoring in English with a French concentration. The Far Side of the Familiar runs alternate Wednesdays.