What I believe about the advancement of American women as a foreigner

In a country that has arguably never been more polarized, voters will have a clear choice in November over which candidate most strongly supports women’s rights.


I went to an all girls’ high school in London, where we were taught that there were no boundaries for us, and that we should set out to conquer the world. We didn’t adhere to a purely feminist agenda, but we certainly touched upon the work of a few feminists during our studies, like Gilbert and Gubar’s Madwoman in the Attic (a feminist approach towards Victorian literature that is well worth a read), and was made aware of the struggles of previous generations to secure our rights, such as the suffragette movement, and the right to have control over our own bodies, such as the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision in the United States. I left school inspired, and itching to start my undergraduate degree at New York University, a place that has exceeded all of my expectations.

If there is one thing that has surprised me since my move to the States, it has been the primary race leading up to November’s general election. To be in the United States during this seminal period was a very exciting prospect. The outcome of the primaries, while predictable on the Democrats side, has been flabbergasting. I’m as stunned as anyone that Donald Trump’s outrageous comments during the primaries have not impeded his progress. But what has really surprised me has been the antipathy that I hear, even among women, when a Hillary Clinton presidency is discussed. Two years ago, I thought that the prospect of having a female president would have generated as much excitement as was seen when President Barack Obama broke through the race barrier. It seems that while Hillary Clinton has held some of the highest positions in government, she carries a lot of baggage, notably her reactions to those women who accused her husband, former President Bill Clinton, of sexual improprieties.

It is clear that a key plank of the Hillary Clinton campaign will be to highlight Donald Trump’s many derogatory statements about women and women’s rights. As reported by The Washington Post, Donald Trump has demonstrated his inconsistency through his flip-flopping attitude towards abortion, and how the law should treat, and indeed punish, women. The two candidates’ positions on women’s rights could well be a determining factor in the final outcome of the election.

In contrast to most of Europe, abortion remains one of the most divisive topics in America. It is undeniably one of the most morally challenging issues, as you are dealing with a potential life. But often, the life of the woman that carries that potential life is marginalized as a result. In one of my first journalism classes at NYU, where we explored some of the media’s approaches to women’s rights, I was encouraged when my teacher (particularly as he was male) pulled out the hard-hitting Doonesbury cartoon that skewered Texas’ upcoming abortion laws, and demonstrated how little control the woman in question actually has in such a major decision concerning her own body. My professor proceeded to read it out with the intended sarcasm, evoking a murmur of incredulous laughter from the entire class of students. There was a unanimous disbelief and anger over the extent of these laws. Our professor impressed upon us that as young writers, we should develop a healthy skepticism towards such judicial overreach, and learn how to craft articulate arguments to defend our rights. He made us appreciate the importance of good journalism as another of the important checks and balances in our society. It made me want to be better, so that I could give a voice to those who feel oppressed and cornered by such laws. I believe that in this day and age, all women should be afforded life choices. Pro-choice is often misconstrued as pro-abortion, when it simply stands for defending a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body.

It has already been written that more voters in this general election will make their decision based on who they dislike the least. In other words, a large number of people voting for Hillary Clinton will not necessarily like the candidate, but their dislike of Donald Trump is even greater (e.g. the new and ambivalent #GirlIGuessImWithHer hashtag now trending after Clinton recently clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination for presidential candidacy). And vice versa. In order to win the Republican nomination, Donald Trump has had to appeal and pivot towards the substantial evangelical and pro-life wings of the Republican party. I’m not sure that Donald Trump even believes some of the more outrageous things he has said. However, in a country that has arguably never been more polarized, voters will have a clear choice in November over which candidate most strongly supports women’s rights.