Carrying On . . .

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy

October 1, 2005

Molly Yard was a very small woman with a very big voice. It was a voice trained in the old days, to be heard at the back of convention halls before modern microphones. She spent the first thirteen years of her life in China, the third daughter of missionary parents. When she was born, her father's Chinese friends gave him a beautiful brass bowl — a condolence present for having another girl instead of the son coveted by Chinese parents. Molly kept that bowl her whole life, and displayed at her Pennsylvania home for all to see. That's just who she was.

There are too many great Molly Yard stories to tell here, so I'll just give you my favorite. Molly and Ellie Smeal and a whole troop of NOW folks had come to D.C. for a candlelit Equal Rights Amendment vigil in front of the White House in the 1970's. They had arranged to stay at the headquarters of the National Women's Party, now called the Sewall-Belmont House. What with delays in traveling, and the lateness of the vigil, they didn't make it there until close to midnight. The house was dark, and they quietly tapped on the door. A very old woman peered out and asked, "Are you from NOW?" She ushered them in, and they found themselves surrounded by history, with a bust of Susan B. Anthony and paintings of suffragist leaders everywhere they looked. Suddenly, the old woman began ringing a large bell and shouting with enthusiasm, "They're here, they're here!" Elderly women in white nightgowns and nightcaps began pouring down the stairs, smiles wreathing their faces. It turned out that their greeter was Alice Paul, author in 1923 of the ERA, and the rest were the veteran suffragists. Ellie was surprised by all the excitement, but Molly said, "If we'd been waiting fifty years for reinforcements, we'd be that happy too!"

Molly worked long and hard for our cause, may she rest in peace. Just as she was one of the long-awaited reinforcements for Alice Paul, so now must we be the reinforcements for Molly Yard. Thank you Molly, for all your work for all of us. I can think of no better way to honor Molly's memory than to carry on her tireless quest for equality.

And so we go on with the work for women, day after day. These days, it seems like one step forward, two steps back. Despite our best efforts, it looks like John Roberts will be confirmed Monday as Chief Justice (boo, hiss). Thanks to all of you who called and wrote your Senators, organized protests, phoned, and sent emails. We did our best, but I can't say the same for all of our "allies" in the Senate. What's the point of being in the opposition party if you lie down and let the majority walk all over you?

Three cheers for the few, the brave, the "Nay" votes on Roberts, especially Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nev., who led the way, and California's Dianne Feinstein who laid out the case against Roberts better than anyone I heard. And SHAME, SHAME, SHAME to those who voted Yes: ALL of the Republicans (now, which party is captive to their "special interests"???), and many Democrats who hold themselves out as supporters of women's rights. Among the most surprising: Judiciary Committee members Leahy, Vt., Feingold and Kohl (Wisc.) and Senators Chris Dodd, Conn.; Carl Levin, Mich.; Patty Murray, Wash.; and Ron Wyden, Ore.; If you haven't done it already, take a minute to send an instant email message to YOUR senators — it will thank those who supported our rights with a NO vote, and will remind those who supported Roberts that women were watching!

And to finish up for this week, some brief news tidbits from around the globe. First, from right here in our illustrious nation, a so-called Christian school expelled an all-American high school cheerleader from for having lesbian parents. The rationale? "Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to one of the mothers. Watch out! The morality police are on the prowl, and not even cheerleaders are safe.

Moving on to Saudi Arabia, where women got a boost from an unexpected source. Karen Hughes didn't go so far as demanding the right to vote for the women there, but did say they should at least have the right to drive, which at least is significantly more than her boss will say (despite his claims of "helping women abroad").

And if what's going on in Pakistan is any indication, women in Saudi Arabia will have a long road to political equality. Pakistan may look OK on paper - it even has rules requiring a certain number of women candidates on the ballot. But guess how far some men will go to keep women out? Police are now investigating an election where two of the women elected as councilors are dead — one died three years ago, the other, thirteen years ago! Clearly, some of the men find it easier to deal with women who aren't so assertive as those pesky living ones.

Back in the U.S.A., the Bush Administration's cynical use of the Katrina disaster to pad corporate pockets and help their friends continues to be downright breathtaking — from giving out the largest no-bid contract so far, over a half a billion dollars, to a Florida company with close ties to Mississippi's Republican governor, Haley Barbour, former chair of the Republican national committee and head of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign advisory committee, to paying $1500 per week per evacuee housed on Carnival Cruise Lines ships (a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Carnival is $599 or less), with a 6-month guarantee to Carnival even though realistically people need to look for jobs and can't spend 6 months on a ship. A few Democrats, like Rep. John Conyers, and even a few Republicans, are demanding inquiries, but the silence from most is deafening.

And last, but certainly not least, women made a major step forward this past Tuesday — at least on the small screen — when Geena Davis became the first woman U.S. president in the new ABC primetime drama, "Commander in Chief." I watched the first episode with trepidation, to say the least, but was surprised at the insight, care, and nuance of the show. Send congratulations to ABC on a terrific series. Write to the Audience Relations Department at Netaudr@abc.com and urge them to keep it on the air. If you're a member of that all-important 18-49 age demographic, be sure to mention your age ;>) And, of course, tune in next Tuesday and help make this show — and the idea of a woman president! — a hit.

That's all for this week, see you next time!