Anyone who knows me will be surprised by this declaration. I dream about chocolate. To be clear, I won’t refuse it if someone offers it. The same goes for flowers and a nice brunch.
But here’s what I truly desire, on Mother’s Day, and every other day:
I want full equality in a society that values all women, regardless of their mother-status.
- I want the Equal Rights Amendment finalized.
- I want equal pay for equal work.
- I want free, universal, accessible birth control, reproductive and pre-natal care, and no-cost births.
- I want parental and caregiver leave policies.
- I want quality childcare and early childhood education across all socio-economic levels.
- I want affordable healthcare, including mental health services.
- I want laws that forbid men who are involved in domestic disputes to own guns.
- I want policemen and lawyers trained in how traumatic memory differs from narrative memory so they can better help crime victims.
- I want rapists convicted and jailed.
- I want victim shaming and blaming to stop.
- I want better enforcement of current laws that are meant to protect women from sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and violence.
- I want full body autonomy.
- I want to be treated as an adult, trusted to make decisions for myself and my family, according to my own needs, and my own conscience.
- I want to choose where, how, when, and with whom I become a mother.
There’s more, but I’ll stop here.
Isn’t it ironic the Roe v. Wade brief was leaked just before Mother’s Day?
One day of roses, cards, and candy is a smoke screen – a distraction from the real issues that face women and their mothers every single day. It’s not enough. It never has been.
Women’s rights are human rights.
I refuse to go back.
