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Hey #Changemakers,
This International Women’s Day, I had a memory pop up in my photos of the Feminist Club I founded at my high school back in 2015. I was moved to create this organization because there was a harmful culture of toxic masculinity and harassment of women and girls at my high school, and I thought it would be helpful for students to have a safe space to address the issues we were facing. This was also around the same time that the reproductive rights movement was exploding in the South, as I remember watching Wendy Davis on the Texas Senate Floor, standing for over 11 hours in her iconic tennis shoes to stop an anti-abortion bill. It was the first time I became aware of the attacks on abortion rights that were happening, and I couldn’t keep this revelation to myself.
With Feminist Club, we organized and hosted fundraisers for gender equity organizations, held educational discussions about various issues affecting students, and hosted speakers to talk to about sex-ed, contraception, and combating gender-based violence. One thing we were known for was our T-shirts and buttons, which our members designed! It came with many disapproving glares in the hallways and judgment from even our school staff, but I didn’t care about any of this. I was too thrilled to just have an outlet to educate my peers and build community with those who joined our organization. While it was the first time I felt backlash for being vocal and active about causes I was passionate about (and my identity itself as a woman of color in a majority-white setting), it was also when I first realized the power of organizing. To this day, it's still an impactful memory and experience that inspires me to create community and build solidarity with those around me.
Today, we’re still, unfortunately facing ruthless attacks on abortion care and healthcare access. Transgender athletes are under attack for simply trying to exist and be part of public life. This week, Asian-American equal payday reminds us of the stiff wage gap that remains for women of color, and Meghan Markle’s courageous interview reminds us of how poorly the media still treats women of color with biased headlines that play into stereotypes. There is still so much work to be done, and on this year’s International Women’s Day, memories of my first days organizing as a hopeful teen give me a renewed sense of optimism.
While we still face an uphill battle to be FREE— free to choose, free to act, free to dream, and free to envision a future of prosperity— we still have great milestones to celebrate. This week, President Biden signed two executive orders, one creating a Gender Policy Council in the White House, and another addressing the previous administration’s actions under Title IX. The Gender Policy Council is tasked with ensuring “every domestic and foreign policy we pursue rests on a foundation of dignity and equity for women.” It also focuses on an intersectional framework for protecting the rights and needs of those who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. This is something we value at Deeds and can totally get behind!
Title IX policies are also a major issue that has impacted our Changemakers, and that they have organized around in the past few years. When the Department of Education changed these regulations for college campuses last year, it reduced accountability and consequences when it comes to issues of rape and sexual assault on campus, which directly harmed survivors of assault. This has already caused major damage, but the Biden-Harris administration directed a review of all policies and guidance to guarantee students are free from sexual violence, and that Title IX is consistent with their administration’s policy priorities.
This Women’s History Month, I have hope that these small, but important steps in the right direction will guide us to making history that future generations will look back on. I have hope that if we can inspire and drive young women to action— the way I was back when I started Feminist Club— then a future where we’re all FREE is possible.
In solidarity,
Parnia Razinobakht
Deeds Not Words, Digital Associate
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