Women must not be afraid to speak out - opinion

When I think back to my childhood growing up in the Rockaways, gazing upon the beautiful sandy beach, I remember the freedom of playing outdoors and walking the streets without fear – well, maybe just a little fear. I also recall the feeling of pride years later as an American and as a Jew: celebrating Thanksgiving, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” embracing the Sabbath, and taking part in parades and demonstrations civilly and with freedom.

I learned from my mother and grandmother to embrace my womanhood with strength. I remember days and nights sitting with my mother at our dining room table laden with heaps of papers, researching for her dissertation on religious practices during the Holocaust. The same hate and antisemitism from that frightening period, which the world swore to never let happen again, has become acceptable again today.

Throughout history, women have navigated uncharted territory when no one else would. From Deborah the prophet to Joan of Arc, from Irena Sendler, a Christian who saved 2,500 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, to 2011 Nobel laureate Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, women have stood up and changed the course of history.

Today’s women need to feel just as secure in standing up for the truth and speaking out against evil. I used to think that the United States was a haven of ideas and that democratic values promoted life and liberty for people of all races, religions, ethnicities, and genders. And that now, women could certainly voice their opinions without having to watch their backs.

But within the last few decades, the moral fabric of society has eroded. Right and wrong have become indistinguishable. And too many women feel uncomfortable sharing their inner thoughts publicly. My son recently shared with me a leaflet found in New York that featured a Palestinian flag and the words “Rape is Resistance.” I’d really like to believe the leaflet was intended as sharp satire, aimed at highlighting the absurdity of pro-Palestinian activists labeling the October 7 events as legitimate resistance.

Ambiguity in injustice

However, the unsettling reality is that we cannot be certain of its origins or intent. It’s frighteningly possible that it was produced by a pro-Palestinian group and meant to be interpreted literally. Such ambiguity serves as a stark reminder of the Orwellian era we find ourselves in, where the line between satire and reality is disturbingly blurred.

Have we truly sunk this low? Has rape become acceptable as a strategy and a tactic rather than seen as an abomination? Rape is an atrocity, whether it happens to Jews, Sudanese women in Darfur or Khartoum, Ukrainian women, or any man or woman. By being quiet amid calls for rape and reports of rape, we are complicit.

The rape and murder of women in Israel on Oct. 7 is now deemed to be justifiable. Women are being defamed and killed in Iran, a reality that has been underexposed despite the independent fact-finding mission to Iran. Draconian child marriage laws result in girls as young as eight being married off in tribal areas of Pakistan. All these are examples of the erosion of our morals and our civilization.

We have been blessed with unimaginable advancements in technology, medicine, and invention. The Internet allowed humanity to connect on an unprecedented level, bringing out the good in humanity and also the worst evil.Yet throughout all these advancements, we lost something. Some say religion, while others say values.We can’t be afraid to stand up for what is right because we might lose our jobs for speaking out. We can’t be bullied into submission by the threat of the sword. We can’t be held hostage and let lawlessness reign.

Laws in Pakistan should not allow children to get married. Yemeni people should not have to live on $2 a day. Terrorist organizations that are holding the world by its proverbials need to be stopped in their tracks. Women, and men, should not have to face the threat of rape. The 19 women held in Gaza against their will must be released now. Calling for an agreement that leaves them in custody for even one day is immoral and unacceptable. Their captors and rapists should know and feel there are consequences.

Silent voices and double standards

So many people hide their heads in the sand today for fear of repercussions. I love Hollywood, as do many people seeking escapism and a more sensational reality. But the people running the show, who have enormous power of persuasion, need to be part of the solution. You can’t be cowards, pretending not to see what is happening. Put down the violin; Rome is burning. The world needs you for the betterment of society, from the producers’ chairs to the actors’ sphere of influence.

The outspoken feminists who lost their voices when Jews were raped on Oct. 7 make clear the double standard at hand. UN envoy Pramila Patten lost her tongue on March 5 when she said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape. There were thousands of pages of documentation. Some women witnessed the rapes and spoke to those who were raped. “Reasonable grounds”? The erosion of moral clarity resonates in these words.

And shouldn’t the UN Human Rights Council meeting on March 18 renew the fact-finding mission mandate in Iran and recognize the report so they can proceed to bring justice for the victims?It’s not just about the Israelis who were violated, but every woman in every country who is violated.As a wife, mother, and grandmother, I work every day to tell the stories of humanity. I shout them into the void – stories of Gazans under the shackles of Hamas, those who didn’t aid the terrorist group, who are now caught in the war between Israel and Gaza. Stories of women fleeing Sudan, or Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Stories of women in Iran bravely demonstrating in the streets for freedom.

Women today are strong and equal. They are changing landscapes, from Saudi Arabia to Silicon Valley. And they have voices of reason that need to be used for the good of this universe.

We need to weaponize the one democratic principle we are losing: our ability to speak out, to join collectively against evil in order to protect our societies, our homes, and our wombs.

We need to stop hiding, women and men alike. We need to take back the quiet streets of society. We need to reclaim the innocence we are losing as a civilization, so that we leave behind a world with dignity and courage for our future generations, a safer, more innocent world that we can take pride in.

The writer is president and CEO of The Media Line news agency and founder of the Press and Policy Student Program, the Mideast Press Club, and the Women’s Empowerment Program. She can be reached at Ffriedson@themedialine.org.