Yesterday, while ISIS-K attacked and killed over 100 people at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, the Biden administration was celebrating Women Equality Day.
Irony alert!
It's hard to believe things are as bad as they are right now.
As the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden issued a statement celebrating “Women’s Equality Day” and said that despite laws giving them the right to vote, women in America are still oppressed by “voter ID laws.”
The day celebrates the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote 101 years ago.
“Even with its ratification, millions were denied those rights by law or by practice through poll taxes, literacy tests, and campaigns of violence and terror that targeted voters of color. It took another 45 years before the Voting Rights Act secured the voting rights of millions of Americans of color, and an additional 10 years before voting protections would reflect the many languages Americans speak,” Biden said.
But now, for women it is “harder to take time off to vote in-person or wait out longer lines at the polls. Women are also disproportionately impacted by voter ID laws — especially married women who change their names, or those whose IDs do not accurately reflect their gender.”
“The struggle to ensure that every American is able to exercise their right to vote continues, especially for women of color. In the years prior to the 2020 election and in the months since, we have seen a wave of shameless attacks on voting — burdening a constitutional right with obstacles that overwhelmingly impact voters of color, low-income communities, and people with disabilities.”
“On Women’s Equality Day, we recognize the unique challenges and barriers women face, and the rights that need defending and strengthening. These rights include a woman’s constitutional right to reproductive freedom and access to health care, regardless of zip code or income — and the right of every woman and girl to live free from violence, whether online, in the home, at school, or in the workplace. To ensure that women are treated fairly in our economy and in the workforce, we are also committed to fighting for pay equity, combating discrimination in the workplace, and passing family-friendly policies that help women and all of us manage caregiving and career responsibilities,” the statement continued.
Photo: Getty Images Europe
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 18: Afghan women wait-in-line to vote in the nation's first Parliamentary Election on September 18, 2005 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The election is part of a major step for the country to restore democracy and stability almost four years after the Taliban was ousted. Afghans will elect a lower house of parliment in all of its 34 provinces. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)