A month ago I turned on the news and saw the possibility of an abortion ban in America. It made me think about my autonomy.
The History of Autonomy
The right to autonomy is the most inherent right. Anyone should be able to do whatever they want, as long as they don’t harm anyone else. Why then, were women denied this basic human right for so long? In a world where we are told we are equal, why are we still being denied the right to autonomy?
The fight for female autonomy in England started with the birth of the suffragist movement. Any man who owned property had the right to vote in the 19th century, but even though women worked, abided by the law and paid taxes, they still weren’t allowed to vote for their representation in Parliament. The Suffragists signed countless petitions and marched peacefully for their rights for 50 long years.
In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst was finished with peaceful protesting and led the Suffragettes, women who resorted to militant violence in order to fight for their rights. They bombed empty buildings, smashed windows and went on hunger strikes. In 1918, Parliament finally passed the Representation of the People Act which removed property qualifications for men and gave women the vote.
Well, some women.
Only women over 30 who owned property could vote. This excluded many POC, poor or unmarried women even though they had marched alongside middle class, married white women. The photo above shows five Indian women in a Suffragette march in 1910. In 1928 another Representation of the People Act amended this and gave all women the right to vote. With the vote, women were now on the way to full autonomy. Right?
The Current Fight for Autonomy
Currently in America, the Supreme Court is debating whether Row vs Wade should be overturned. Roe vs Wade was a landmark case in America. In 1973 the Supreme Court decided that some abortions were legal. Now there is the possibility of this ruling being overturned which would allow states to punish abortions (and even miscarriages) with a death sentence.
In America, the minimum sentence for rape is a fine.
A privileged, select few controlling the rights of cis women and AFAB people already screams of an archaic dystopia. Never mind the fact that in America, 5000 black women were forcibly sterilised from the years 1933 to 1973. Or how in Canada, indigenous women are six times more likely to go missing or be murdered than white women. Or how in Britain, transgender women are three times more likely to be murdered than cisgender women.
The greatest lie we have been told is that now women have the vote, we have true equality and freedom.
How can women be free when we are still policed for the length of our skirts at school? How can women be free when the government can easily overturn laws that protect our right to bodily autonomy? How can women be free when there is a history of the dehumanisation of black women, indigenous women and transwomen?
The Future of Autonomy
The fight for autonomy is far from over. The idea of having basic human rights taken away from us seemed like an impossibility. This has shown that it may become all too real. My research into the history of autonomy shows that none of us can be free unless all women are free. That includes the pick me girl in your form who you find annoying, the girl you’re jealous of because she’s got a boyfriend and the girl who you find obnoxious. Or is that just because she’s unapologetically confident?
It is not your job to dismantle the patriarchy. However, it is your job to take apart internal misogyny and treat others with kindness. I look forward to a Utopian future, where disabled women, trans women and women of colour have the same freedoms that rich white men have enjoyed for the last 1000 years.
By Safia Adia