While the majority of this blog pertains to gender politics in Kuwait and elsewhere in the Middle East, Christiane Amanpour's recent CNN International report about the woman's movement in the United States (you might be trying to refresh your memory about this) cannot be ignored. Her guests included film producer Louise Vance and Marie Wilson of The White House Project. Vance spoke of her recent documentary "Seneca Falls" and of the often forgotten arduous path of female suffrage in the United States. Many in the current generation of post-grads think that the US women's movement is over, thanks to the efforts of our mothers and grandmothers (and the supportive men). Yet, given the extensiveness of the United States' democracy and the access that American women have to public office compared to elsewhere across the globe, the numbers in the legislature do not match up, as these CNN guests pointed out: the US ranks 78th world-wide for female political representation in congressional/parliamentary bodies. Living in Kuwait today amongst the current women's rights movement, I am reminded of similar rhetoric that began in 1848 in the United States at the first women's rights convention (bonus points if you know the name). While American women may be a generation or two ahead of Kuwaiti women in terms of political equality, the former should not slip into complacency or take for granted the "badass" women that the documentary describes.
"Seneca Falls" Article Here
More information about The White House Project
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