March was mostly a downpour of assaults, deaths, cases and outrage among the rights women have been constantly fighting for. With the recent cases and news of violence against women on the rise along with the old legal loopholes, it is becoming increasingly frustrating to be a woman in modern times. It makes me wonder how far everything must go before the progress and fights for our rights and equality start to actually come to start.

It has never been so saddening than looking at the news and seeing national widespread cry over deaths of women and the setbacks that shouldn’t be present in modern times from the progress we are constantly fighting for. 

There has always been a widespread fear among women leaving the house. Women often feel the need to wear purses and bags containing any form of self-defense mechanisms. It has become a ridiculous standard that having your foot out the door means carrying artillery in case of any attack or life-threatening situations. The most devastating thing is that this is becoming more of a threat than ever. It is crazy that we live in the 21st century and still hold onto such practice and still face violence targeted at minorities. A recent case in Minnesota really showcased the work we have yet to get done that involves loopholes for sexual assault and charges. The case involved a woman who was intoxicated on her own will but was later allegedly raped while drunk. The charges on the man accused were lifted due to because the woman voluntarily got intoxicated rather than being forced. This decision gives leeway for lighter sentences for those convicted and gives the branding of such cases of assaults to be ‘legal’ in the court of law. It really shows how much change there needs to be in the legal system.

Current challenges for women do not stop there. The recent murder of six Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia caused a spark of outroar and protest all over the country. These protests are meant to strike back against Asian hate crimes overlooked due to the pandemic. The target was to fight for Asian and women’s rights knowing that such behavior shouldn’t have to be tolerated since there were an additional two other women killed by the same shooter. 

These events and protests spark the struggles and progress we have left to accomplish with the start of this year. It was extremely disappointing that such events sparked in March during Women’s month but it gave a clear view of what we still have left to fight for and the long path ahead of us. 

Sources:

MN Supreme Court reverses rape conviction because a woman wasn’t forced to get drunk

From Minnesota, Asian American women mourn Georgia spa victims