Women’s Rights: We’re Still Waiting

The crowd stands in front of the County Administration Center during the San Diego Women’s March on Jan. 21.

By Taina Millsap, Staff Writer
January 27, 2017

Last morning I woke up and I thought my calendar read that we were in 2017 but I must be wrong. Women are still getting paid less than men while doing the same job and having to rebut simple sexist comments in an English class Socratic seminar, it’s about time that we get what we truly deserve as a nation, full legal protection and equality between sexes.

Since the nationwide women’s marches that happened Jan. 21 and the big impact that it’s caused in our society, I’ve been wondering why the ERA hasn’t been ratified by all states and therefore added to the Constitution.
For those who don’t know, the ERA stands for the equal rights amendment and it simply states that all sexes will have equal rights, which guarantees the law is on everyone’s side.

The ERA was passed by Congress on March 22, 1972 and then it was sent to the states for ratification by both houses of their state legislatures. But since amendments only become part of the Constitution when approved by three-fourths (38) of the 50 states, this amendment has not been added yet. The 15 states that have not yet ratified the Equal Rights Amendment are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

It makes no sense that in present time we can accomplish such things as organized nationwide marches for women’s rights with millions of people all across the country but we still don’t have the ERA as part of the Constitution.
It’s time for states to think about where our nation is at right now in the battle for rights between sexes. All the protests make sure the country is aware that we won’t stop until we get our rights. It’s the perfect time to bring up ERA and pass something into the Constitution; that shouldn’t be a big deal.

It’s about time that the states take a stand against possible future prejudice against women’s rights and equality, whether it is under our current president or not this is still something that needs to happen to make the United States of America a truly equal country, at least based on law.

Equality between genders under the law should not be something we still have to discuss in 2017. It should have been passed long ago but since it hasn’t, maybe next time we march in favor of women’s rights we could protest the ultimate thing necessary: our equal rights under the Constitution.

Maybe when that finally happens we can officially shut up about feminism because it won’t be something worth mentioning; it’ll be the law, and let’s be honest, common sense.