JK Rowling is right. The battle for women’s rights is far from over

JK Rowling is right. The battle for women’s rights is far from over

THE experiences of an intelligent, articulate and successful woman like JK Rowling make for sorry reading (“Rowling regrets not speaking out sooner on ‘regressive’ gender identity ‘ideology’”, The Herald, May 30).

Sadly she is not alone in being subjected to misogynistic abuse as a result of expressing her well-informed and widely-held views in the toxic arena of social media.

I felt something close to shame when I read this article and understand the “chronic pain” she has felt because of guilt over not speaking out sooner.

I cannot bring myself to use social media, a place where there is no accountability for online “monstering” and grotesque and obscene threats of violence in particular against women who simply want to feel safe, respected and protected in a fair and equal society.

An equal society cannot exist when voices are silenced or where individuals who are brave enough to speak out, notwithstanding the dangers of doing so, are sacked from influential roles and targeted with impunity.

Growing up and learning to live in a man’s world has always baffled me – it seems beyond unfair that society and history have repressed women so effectively, across nations and in the eyes of law, religion and social norms.

This latest assault on our rights, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act is yet another depressing example of legislation that disregards women.

Only this week I was using a female-only changing area in a well-known fashion outlet in a modern shopping mall, when a man, bold as brass, walked right into this space. He was visibly offended when I challenged him about being there. This was a man in his forties or fifties. There were young girls in various states of undress present. It seems to me that many men feel quite entitled enough, without additional protection, to compromise women-only spaces and women’s privacy.

The battle for women’s rights in this country has been long and hard. It is far from over. What rights women have secured must not be eroded by a “socio-political movement”. It is time for adult conversations, rooted in realism that result in safe spaces for all in a fair and just society.https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/24356784.jk-rowling-right-battle-womens-rights-far/?ref=rss