400 BC -GREECE
Agnodice speaks, not even looking up from her surgery once, “We are the women who practiced medicine when you told us not to. You made it the law but haven’t you heard? When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. You can hang me, stone me, give me the death penalty but you cannot kill my legacy. Haven’t you heard? You can arrest me for disobeying your law but you cannot arrest my ideas.”
Who are we?
We are the ones who have every reason to rebel.
1691 – MEXICO
Juana de La Cruz smiles, one hand stirring the pot, and the other turning the page of her book, “We are the women who are given the same eyes and ears as you men so why are we not given the right to education. I am a nun, and these are my secular texts which I will keep writing verse after verse after verse. What will you do about it? My ideology keeps growing in fame, but your minds keep getting narrower. If you will not give us what we very much deserve, then we will fight for it.”
Who are we?
We are the ones you will never be able to silence.
1860 – RUSSIA
Anna Filosofova raises her chin, with no intentions of putting it down. She speaks, her voice stern and clear, “We are the women who can understand the cries of children better than you, because we are mothers; you still don’t let us take action for them. I believe we should educate the poor rather than making them work in paddy fields. Why do they have a less right to education than the rich who take their wheat and cereal for granted? And my sisters? What less of a right do they have to work in offices than my brothers? My voice is louder than yours because I speak for the generations ahead of me and it will get louder and louder until justice is served. You look like you didn’t expect any of this,” her lips slowly pull up into a snarl, “Haven’t you heard? За чем пойдёшь, то и найдёшь. As you sow, so shall you reap.”
Who are we?
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
1893 – NEW ZEALAND
Kate Sheppard hurls her “monster” petition across the room, “We are the women who keep coming back stronger each time. You locked my sisters behind doors when it was time to vote. I say no. Look at me, I have knocked on every one of their doors and together we brought down your foolish rules. The law is hard but it is the law? Would you say the same if I asked you to only stay home and not concern yourselves with who rules our towns and countries next? Today I will vote for my children and my children’s children, because really what have you done to change the world.”
Who are we?
We are the voices you tried to bury without knowing we were seeds.
1911 – JAPAN
Raicho Hiratsuka lets out her mocking laugh, “We have been telling you for centuries. You won’t listen to us and you stay oblivious to our timeless protests against your oppression. So today I will write. Today I will write so my sisters can read, and when they read they will know that they are not alone. That we, women, have been fighting for a millennia. That they took away our swords and left us “powerless”. Let them! Let them take away our swords and knives and guns and pistols, but they will never be able to take away our pens. So today I write, I write, I write.”
Who are we?
We are the ones who won’t stay still just because you can be comfortable.
1973 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Billie Jean King’s laughter echoes around the tennis court, “We are the women who demanded our rights. Because it’s absurd even thinking about it, I can swing my bat harder than you men, but you still will not pay the money I deserve? Shameless, I say. Shameless to the core. You sit there on your throne, all high and mighty. But how fragile of a throne must it be that it crumbles with a threat from a woman? Yes, my sisters. Yes, I demanded for equal pay and they met that demand. So if you’re working overtime but not paid as much as the man who leaves early then threaten them. Boycott them. Trust me, the crown that looks like it’s made of alloys is but just pure metal.”
Who are we?
We are the ones who will never be satisfied.
1998 - PAKISTAN
Benazir Bhutto slams her hand on the table, “We are the leaders of this world. In your male-dominated society, I have come to shine light for little girls throughout my country. You men dismiss the power of women in the household, so with my income support program I will give the money to the women in families. I will show you that we are capable of making decisions, just like you. My daughters will go to school and their mothers will have their freedom. You say you don’t have money for education but you have money for war? It’s okay. I will take care of it myself. I am the first of many and you watch, just watch, history will repeat itself.”
Who are we?
We are the ones who didn’t come this far, only to come this far.
2016 – ZIMBABWE
Loveness Mudzuru holds hands with Ruvimbo Tsopodzi and other Zimbabwean girls as they destroy child marriage norms, “When we were supposed to play dress up with friends and dolls, you took us to dress in veils and stand in wedding rooms. But not anymore, we have made you rule in our favor like you should have from the beginning. History has repeated itself, and it will continue again and again. Years ago, you tried to silence my mother and my mother’s mothers but they left a legacy which we promise to continue. You paint us in colors we don’t want to be painted in, your palette cannot handle the art inside us. Years ago, women who scared you and defied your rules, you burned them to death. Not anymore,” a smile crosses their faces, “Welcome to the end of an era.”
Who are we?
We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.