Well, here we are at the tail end of March 2023, and I can’t help but feel reflective. Yes, after several weeks of “Get it girl!!!!” and “Treat yo self queen!!!” marketing emails, you’re likely well aware that March is Women’s History Month. The fervent tone and saccharine sentiments feel at odds with the moment in which we find ourselves. If it feels like each day brings yet another reminder that women’s rights are under assault, that’s because they are. The overturning of Roe v. Wade flung open the floodgates for attacks on women’s bodily autonomy, and the hateful rhetoric surrounding the rights of transgender women is terrifying. To be frank, I can hardly keep up with devastating headline after headline. Just last week, Wyoming became the first state to ban the abortion pill, and the growing number of states banning gender-affirming care for trans women is dizzying. Meanwhile, Florida is considering a bill that would ban girls below 6th grade from simply talking about their periods, despite the fact that some girls get their first period before then (not to mention that it contradicts the advice of medical professionals).
The truth is, Gen-Z and Millennial girls and women have fewer rights than they did when they were born. So forgive me, but no amount of sugar could make this bitter pill any less unpalatable; you can keep your coupon codes, girl-ified temporary rebrands, and marketing gimmicks; what women need now is action.
So where do we go from here? Personally, I think we have no choice but to roll up our sleeves and get to work. That’s what our mothers and grandmothers before us did, and that’s what we have to continue to do for future generations of girls. It’s the only thing we can do. So with that in mind, I want to highlight some of the girls and women across the globe who are doing exactly that: standing up in the face of hatred and hardship and fighting for a better future.
Iranian Women Dancing in Defiance
It’s been six months since Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police after being detained for wearing an “improper hijab.” She was only 22 years old. Her death sparked protests and dissent throughout the country. Since then, young girls and women have fought back, facing arrest, imprisonment, and death in doing so. Protesters have taken to the streets, stood their ground against armed police forces, let their hair down, worn tight-fitting clothes, burned their hijabs, and danced in public—all crimes for women in Iran. Many of the protesters are very young women and teen girls, and their movement has shown no signs of slowing down. Earlier this month, on International Women’s Day, a video was posted on Instagram in which five teenage girls danced in Tehran’s Ekbatan community; they looked joyful as they recreated a popular TikTok dance while wearing crop tops and their hair down. The video went viral, becoming a symbol of young women’s resistance against Iran’s repressive morality laws. And while the girls were soon after detained by authorities and forced to issue an apology, their courage ignited a movement beyond themselves. Women all over Iran and across the world have since recreated the video, posting videos of themselves dancing unveiled and in public. It’s a remarkable feat of bravery, and an important reminder that the harder regimes try to restrict the rights of women, the harder we’ll fight back.
Afghan Girls Creating Their Own Classrooms
Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, Afghan girls and women have faced a series of devastating attacks on their most fundamental rights, including the right to an education and the right to work outside of the home. One year ago, schools that were supposed to reopen were shuttered so quickly that returning students had to be kicked out of their classrooms; many young women left in tears. And in the waning days of 2022, just as students were studying for their final exams, the Taliban barred women from attending university. Tragic, horrific, incensing don’t even begin to describe it. One young girl told USA Today, “I used to write… but right now, every day I'm losing my words.” Another said, "The most painful thing is being a girl here. We know how it feels… to be a non-being, confined in a cage… to always be known by the name of your father, brother or husband and have no identity of our own.”
And yet, in the face of this, Afghan girls are still fighting for their education and liberation. Defying the Taliban, they’re meeting in secret in the early hours of the morning, logging into virtual classrooms to learn, at incredible risk to their safety. And many others are relocating, traveling across the globe to continue their education, with the hope of being able to return to help other Afghan girls. Indeed, despite the immense hurdles they’re facing, young Afghan girls are still standing up and speaking out. As one young student told her teacher, “Everything is possible if you take the action.”
Students Standing Up and Walking Out for Trans Rights
It really feels like a single day can’t go by in which another piece of anti-transgender legislation is put forth. The right’s obsession with attacking a marginalized group of people’s very existence terrifies me. I can’t imagine what that must feel like for the transgender community and particularly for trans youth simply trying to grow up in this country at this moment. The hateful rhetoric is disturbing, and the barrage of legislation seeking to ban gender-affirming care, impede transgender folks participation in public life, and even prohibit acknowledging the fact that transgender folks exist goes beyond senseless and cruel. In the face of this, I see young people taking a stand in every corner of the country. This past fall, tens of thousands of students at more than a hundred schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia stood up from their desks and walked out in protest of the state’s anti-trans policies. Since then, students across the country have stood up against bigotry and aren’t backing down. In just the past month, students organized protests in Iowa, Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee. This is what action looks like!
Teen Girls Take On Their Country and The World to Protect Our Planet
Just this week, a group of youth climate activists, including longtime activist Greta Thunberg, received approval to challenge their home country in court in order to push for more action to combat the world’s climate crisis. Hundreds of young people have banded together to form Aurora, using their collective power to urge Sweden to take more meaningful action against climate change. It’s an extraordinary testament to what this rising generation of girls is capable of doing.
The takeaway here is not simply about how brave or inspiring all of these young women and girls are—which they undoubtedly are. Nor is it a declaration that the youth will save us; that shouldn’t fall to them. It’s a reminder to follow in their example and of what our liberation requires: the willingness to take action. And it’s a reminder of what’s at stake; outdated as they are, Iran’s laws banning women from showing their hair, wearing form-fitting clothes, and dancing in public haven’t actually been around that long (the hijab only became required by law for women in Iran in 1983). Similarly, it was less than two years ago when Afghan girls and women were in classrooms and getting their degrees before their right to an education was ripped out from under them. And just over the past few years have we seen such a pervasive surge in targeted anti-transgender legislation. Our rights are as precarious as they are precious, and we can’t afford complacency.
Girls are nothing short of amazing. Let’s follow their lead and fight for a better future.
WRITTEN BY
Liz Elting