Donald Trump has won the US presidential election for a second time, despite being convicted of over 30 felonies, accused of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault and impeached twice during his first term in office. After the results were reported, women all over the world were shell-shocked. In response, singer Billie Eilish posted to her social media: “it’s a war on women.” But is there a war on women? In short: yes. It’s a conflict that is slowly spreading across the globe.
Just last week, it was reported that the Iraqi government is poised to lower the country’s age of consent from 18 to just nine years old. The conservative ruling parties want to make amendments to Law 188 passed in 1959, which affects Iraqi families regardless of religious sect. Not only would the amendments make it far easier for young girls to be forcibly married, but it would also affect women’s right to child custody and divorce.
In the last few years, there has been an eerie pattern of progressive laws protecting women’s rights being overturned – perhaps most notably, Roe v Wade in the US.
During his presidency, Donald Trump was able to establish three new conservative justices to the US Supreme Court. On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court, which now consequently has a conservative majority, overturned Roe v Wade, the historic 1973 case which made abortion in the United States a federal right. As a result, the decision on whether a woman has a right to choose what to do with her body can vary between states.
As of this year, 12 states have enforced a near-total ban on abortion. Others have severely restricted it; some have simply stopped providing the option despite legally allowing it. Women in America are watching their reproductive rights slip away before their eyes.
Both Law 188 and Roe v Wade were passed more than 50 years ago and are being brought into question in the 21st Century. When it comes to women’s rights being enshrined in law, we are most certainly going backwards.
Issues concerning women have been brought to the forefront of national discussion in many countries. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are gradually restricting women from education and even leaving their homes without a male escort. Recent news reports indicate that a ban on women raising their voices has also been passed. As it became apparent that Trump had won the presidency, Taliban officials congratulated him on social media, expressing relief that the US would not be led by a woman.
Women in the UK are not safe either. Violence against women was declared a “national emergency” by police in July. There was a 37 percent increase in violent crimes against women and girls between 2018 and 2023, a staggering statistic.
This summer, the UK was shocked at the brutal murder of three little girls who were attending a dance class in Southport. Several other girls were also injured with stab wounds. This horrific attack should have provoked a national conversation about violence against women; instead, it provoked more violence. Days of rioting led by far-right thugs who used the tragedy to promote racist anti-immigrant rhetoric followed instead.
As such, the result of three young girls being killed was that women of colour across the country were scared to leave their homes for fear of being targeted by protesters. If the consequence of violence against women is more violence against women, will it ever end?
As a woman, it’s difficult to see these things happen in real time and in so many countries across the world. It’s even more difficult to see so many people unable to recognise that it is happening. The war on women is real, but it’s a war waged with words, laws and politics rather than weapons. Perhaps that is what makes it so deadly.
