During an awards luncheon in Menlo Park, held to celebrate the accomplishments of women’s rights advocates and to raise funds for the Feminist Majority Foundation, words were not minced over just what is at risk for women under the current presidential administration.
The event was held at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club on April 24.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the foundation, said in her remarks that if one more Supreme Court justice is swapped out for a Republican party favorite, then Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case granting women access to an abortion, could be overturned.
If that were to happen, she said, access to family planning and safe abortions for women could be immediately undermined by many states that have passed “trigger laws” to restrict or ban abortions. Those laws automatically take effect should the high court reverse Roe v. Wade.
“Women and girls will die. … Entire futures are on the line,” said Kathy Spillar, executive director of the Feminist Majority Foundation, in an interview. A major priority of the organization, she said, is “defeating the president’s agenda.”
At the luncheon, the organization honored women’s rights advocates Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN under-secretary-general, and Sarah Culberson, president and co-founder of Sierra Leone Rising, for their work on behalf of women internationally.
Accepting the award on behalf of Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka was Dr. Khetsiwe Dlamini, chief of staff for UN Women, who spoke about UN Women and its initiatives to improve women’s legal rights and safety.
Young policymaker
Another speaker was Aliesa Bahri, a high school junior from Los Altos Hills who attends the Harker School in San Jose. She brought to the attention of local lawmakers the fact that in California, there is no minimum age a girl must be before she can be married if a parent permits it and if a judge says it’s OK. Current California law allows minors younger than 18 to marry with the signed permission of at least one parent, or that of a legal guardian, and a court order. While pre-marital counseling or a court hearing may be ordered by a judge before such a request is granted, neither is required.
State Sen. Jerry Hill was the first lawmaker to respond to Ms. Bahri’s email, she said in an interview, and he began working on drafting a bill with her, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Taririh Justice Center, the California Women’s Law Center and Unchained at Last, a nonprofit trying to legally end forced and child marriage in the U.S.
The bill, which was introduced in the California Legislature on Feb. 9, prohibits anyone under 18 years of age from receiving a marriage license. It is scheduled to go before the state Senate Judiciary Committee on May 2, she said.
Ms. Bahri is involved in her high school’s Girls Learn International chapter and has been selected by Girls Learn International twice as a delegate to the UN Conference on the Status on Women.
Even though she’s not yet of age to vote, she has clear ideas about what young people can do to get involved.
“It’s our democratic responsibility to remedy situations we think are harmful,” she said.
In a separate statement by Sen. Hill’s office, Ms. Bahri said, “Multiple studies have shown that girls who marry early are more likely to stop their education, suffer economically, and become victims of domestic violence. We have a responsibility here and now to end early childhood marriage given that we know how detrimental it is for our children and for our communities.”
Other local schools that have Girls Learn International chapters are: Eastside College Preparatory High School in East Palo Alto; Castilleja School, Palo Alto High School, The Girls’ Middle School, Gunn High School, iSing Silicon Valley Girl Choir and Keys School in Palo Alto; Menlo School in Atherton; Synapse School in Menlo Park; and Sequoia High School in Redwood City.
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