“Where are the women?”

So, with all the hullabaloo over the so-called, “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” hearing (yes, that’s actually what it was called), and all the discussion about how no women were allowed to speak as witnesses (despite the conversation being about birth control), has left me with the impression that something is missing. Female politicians have taken to the stand, asking the question, “Where are the women?” saying that it is inexcusable that a hearing on women’s health without any women’s voices present is ridiculous. Republicans have come back by saying that hearing was on religion, not contraception, and it’s this direction that the debate has gone.

What the Hell?

Why is it Republicans think they can excuse themselves from having female representation by “proving” that the conversation is not about women directly? Why are women only angry that Republican men are blocking them out of a conversation about women? There’s an issue here that isn’t being talked about that goes beyond the women’s health problem–it’s women’s representation in government in general. We should be just as pissed that “It’s about religion, so we don’t need you ladies,” was offered as a counterargument at all! As if women aren’t just as involved in religious matters as men, as if women don’t care about an issue unless it’s a “women’s issue!” And hearing Senator Gillibrand speak out earlier today didn’t relieve my anger and opinion that the wrong arguments are being made. She said that women can offer new solutions and perspectives on issues, and thus should be included in debate. Why do we need to sell ourselves to our government? Why do we need to make equality advantageous, why do we need to have an offering to bring to the table? Why isn’t the fact that women make up about half of our nation’s population enough reason to bring them into legislative discussion? We all know the answers on the sides of the men–we live with a mostly male Congress that sees no reason to change.

But do women feed into this point-of-view with these arguments? I can see why it’s tempting to cry out about the advantages of having a women’s point of view, but that’s diminishing women’s views to a uniform “female” perspective that simply doesn’t exist. Women are just as diverse in their opinions as men, because we are human, we come from different backgrounds, we come to different conclusions about the world.

The question “Where are the women?” doesn’t need to be justified. Equality doesn’t need to be justified. Because the purposeful exclusion of women (or any minority) is just plain wrong–and that is argument enough to call for change.