We created the 100 Woman Project to prove a point: That women, who make up 49.7 percent of the world’s population, have — despite thousands of years of effort to erase our stories, our history, our contributions and our opinions — risen above all that to make this world a better place.
Like millions of others, we are gutted by the news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death Friday night.
Gutted, for the loss of one of the greatest legal minds in the history of our country, a woman who despite graduating at the top of her law school classes at both Harvard and Columbia couldn’t find a job because she was a woman, a wife, and a mother.
Gutted, because she took a job teaching law rather than practicing it — and yet used the opportunity to set an example for young law students, men and women alike, that no matter the obstacles put in your way, there is always an option to fulfill your own destiny, to use your intelligence and skill to do better for others, to fight for the interests of people other than yourself and to keep working to make an unjust system right for everyone.
Gutted, because as the second woman ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court she spent her final years with the heaviest of burdens — to just hold on, by her fingertips, to her seat on the Court — because she saw what was coming, which is politicians in power on a mission to reverse Supreme Court rulings and take away the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and yes, even healthcare.
Gutted, because we’ve lost someone who inspires us all.
Our intent with mutterhood is to be a place where women, and our stories, take their earned, deserved and proper place. We are so inspired by what women do, what we say, how we overcome hardship, and how we just keep going because, honestly, that’s just what women do.
But we cannot go backwards. We cannot allow this nation’s final tribute to one of our country’s greatest public servants be that we stand by while the work to which she devoted her life is undone in just a matter of weeks.
Yes, we need to vote. But right now, that isn’t enough.
Be inspired by the women we’ve featured the last two months. Let their voices guide us to speak out, do more, make it known to anyone who listens that we are done being ignored. We are done being marginalized. We are done being dismissed.
And we are ready to fight.
Let these women inspire you. Together, we can keep moving forward.
NOTE: This column is from mutterings, our weekly newsletter, which was sent to subscribers this morning. Sign up here to receive your exclusive copy direct to your inbox every Sunday.