Has anyone else been surprised to see so many women taking to the streets in Iran, in protest of the election so obviously stolen by what's-his-name-who's-clearly-whacked? I am both frightened and relieved to see their covered heads, marching with fists raised...but it's also a reminder of just how close we all are to chaos and a return to brutal oppression. All around the world women are still in trouble.
There are little girls in Pakistan who are having their schools blown up because some obviously uneducated "people" feel it's dangerous to educate them. And it is dangerous to educate women, because once we are educated, we realize we have more power than we thought. Ladies in America, it's only been about 100 years since women have been allowed a college education in this country.
All around the world, young girls are still being sold into sexual slavery...some of which is called marriage. As young as 8 or 9 years old, girls in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and who knows where else are being kidnapped--or worse, sold by their own families.
And forget about women owning property in many countries. Even in America and Europe, as recently as 150 years ago, if a woman got divorced, she automatically lost her children because they were the property of her husband. This is still the reality for many women around the world.
Genital mutilation for young girls is still the rule rather than the exception in Africa. Can you imagine taking your daughter out to your backyard and cutting off her clitoris, just so she will be more desirable and manageable to a future husband? In some parts of the world, it's mothers who do this to their daughters.
Here in America, we obsess over our hair, nails, weight, skin, and reality television more than we think about what other women around the world are dealing with. And besides all that, we women are just so damn busy all the time...too busy to read about our history, too busy to remember just how precious this freedom is, too busy to help out other women around the world.
Let's promise ourselves not to forget all this, because there is a very thin line between the freedom we have now and the freedom we could lose. We owe it to our daughters, our girlfriends, and all the women around the world to never, ever forget.
For more from Maria Rodale, go to http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com.