You Exist in the Context
By Anajah Woah/Young Scholar
“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,” is a quote by Kamala Harris that was seen as funny, a meme, a random saying by a vice president. But in truth the quote holds so much depth and presents the idea that you are only what you are, because someone was who they were.
By Anajah Woah
In the wake of International Women’s Day and the rise of conservatism in our country leading to the revoking of Roe v. Wade, the cuts of grants for women’s research and education, and other setbacks, this Women’s Day needs to be a remembrance of how far we have come, honoring the ones before us and pushing the long fight for rights ahead of us.
Because at the end of the day, if a right can be granted to you, it can be taken away from you.
The right to vote, own a bank account, and the allowance of no-fault divorce are actions and reforms that have changed women’s lives drastically, lowering suicide rates and increasing the percentage of women in the workforce — all in all leading to independence.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) drove the movement to allow women to leave marriages without proving abuse. This solidified women’s autonomy.
The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as a lawyer, fought for the Equal Credit Opportunity Bill to be passed, again paving the way for women today.
Reasons like this make me so interested in law and my pursuit to practice it, because the world is only what we make it. We can only hold opportunities if we take them.
For people, especially women, who feel as if politics is not their problem, I urge them to consider that politics and women’s reform movements are the reason you have the ability to work, become independent, make financial and medical choices for yourself.
None of it happened through a miracle; it happened through consistent challenging of systems, all so we can be where we all are today.
That is the biggest gift that anyone can give you, because you exist within the context.
