From a young age, girls are told to believe they're in imminent danger no matter what, with parents feeding into ideas such as “not letting girls out at night’ and monitoring their phones in fear of them getting preyed on by adults. Even though these problems are very real, they are overreported, causing both women and girls to believe the world is constantly working against them. News outlets persistently report abductions and human trafficking cases, creating mass paranoia and further amplifying existing fears. As a child, the constant exposure to such ideas from friends, family, and teachers made me fear the possibility of being “snatched” away in broad daylight. Social media added more fuel to the fire, introducing “life-saving” hacks such as putting keys between one’s knuckles; buying portable locks, tasers, and different varieties of pepper spray; capitalizing on their fears. In 2018, The Reuters Foundation released a survey stating that the US was one of the top 10 most dangerous countries for women, even topping Iran and North Korea. This survey was so horribly flawed that these findings circulated through popular news sources, creating more fear among women. However, it was created by certain biased opinions and ideas by anonymous “experts”. In conclusion, even though crimes such as harassment, trafficking, and abductions are very serious issues, overreporting these crimes causes women and girls around the country to become overly paranoid, affecting their quality of life.
The next huge issue labeled as “controversial”, is the abortion laws put in place by the United States with people either rooting for ‘pro-choice’ or ‘pro-life’. The US is one of the only countries that criminalizes abortion, going against the global trend of liberalization of women’s rights. In June of 2022, while scrolling through TikTok, I remember coming across a video stating that the Roe vs Wade law had been overturned. Curious about all the angry and devastated women in the comments, I continued to watch the video. I had come to the realization that the government took away yet another right that women had worked so hard to acquire. Something as big as women’s reproductive rights became another topic of discussion; women dealing with medical issues, ones who weren't ready for motherhood, ones who struggled with financial problems or even drug abuse, and ones who were raped hadn't even been considered before this law was implemented. A research letter published by JAMA Internal Medicine in January 2024 stated that 64,000 rape-related pregnancies had occurred in the 14 states that had banned abortion, leading to protests aiming for the legalization of abortion to rise.
Unfortunately, we are faced with all sorts of challenges: loss of human rights, unequal pay, sexual harassment issues, unattainable beauty standards, etc. However, as women face these issues, they also continue to fight against the oppression and fear they experience, providing the hope of equal opportunities for the present and future generations of women.
Anishka Nagarimadugu
Bentonville High School
Bentonville AR
Insta: 06_ani_07
Comments