The last two years have been incredibly difficult for our country. From the 1 million deaths of COVID to the opioid crisis, to the mental health crisis of so many suffering from depression and anxiety.
Currently, the attack on all women from social media networks banning photos of their bodies that are deemed inappropriate, to the current state of our country’s overturning basic rights of women’s healthcare and reproduction, as well as the current shortage of baby formula to feed countless children.
As well as the constant acuity of those who have become mothers giving up their careers to stay at home with their children, to those who don’t wish to become mothers and opt for a different kind of life experience. When did it become the “norm” to ask a woman does she has children and why or why not.” As a woman who is in my late 30’s who personally has struggled with infertility this is highly insensitive and I’ve never heard any of my past male counterparts being asked this question in a personal or professional setting. Why has the female body become such a taboo subject? For centuries women have been worshipped in art and various cultures as Goddesses of femininity, beauty, art, and even agriculture. For many Christians, the center is Mary, a woman that against all odds brought the savior to the earth. It is without her sacrifice an entire religion would not exist.
Women and mothers is a concept that simply can’t be separated. We are all mothers to the earth, to each other.
We support one another and push forward advancements in our society benefiting all.
It is our nature as women to be natural nurturers. So why are we even thinking about stopping the voice of women, the voice of all who share the nurturing spirit?
Are we to go back to the 17th century? Are we to go back to witchhunts? Are we to go back to being second-class citizens? Or are we to improve life for all citizens by treating each individual soul as an equal to be able to pursue their life without judgment.
My great great great grandmother Leila started a change in my own family and this country by becoming a physician at a time in the mid-1800s without the right to vote, to be a citizen, to hold property. This was done not just by her own will and determination.
It was also through the love and support of her husband John who saw his wife as an equal.
We must men and women stand together to support women in the pursuit of their dreams. While if not then we truly have lost what makes this country a beacon of hope for so many the ability to listen to the voice of its own people and move forward.
Sincerely,
Gwen Grace Washington
Founder of the Leila Grace Foundation