Texan Mosaic

by ALEX PEREZ/Staff Writer  

As we are beginning another month in 2016, many would like to believe that our society is fair and equal.

But deep down, we know that is not the case, as we are in a patriarchal society.

Living in a world where men say what goes can be very discouraging, and, at times, scary for some women, especially when the government (which is supposed to protect and serve everybody) can’t even allow us to keep our God-given rights as human beings. In the controversial cases of rape or abortion, men have the power to say what is right and what is wrong, despite the fact that these cases involve a woman’s body.

The most recent case of men overpowering a woman is in the ruling against pop-singer Kesha. She signed a record deal with Sony and Dr.Luke for a set number of albums. During the time working for them, Dr.Luke allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted the pop star while also forcing her to do drugs.

Kesha filed a suit against the company and Dr.Luke in order to get her contract voided. But the judge froze the case because there was a lack of evidence. Let me say that again, a lack of evidence.

The fact that the judicial system is allowed to determine if a woman has been sexually assaulted or not is horrendous to me. Not only did she just have her common right to say no and make her own decisions taken away by a man who forced himself on her, but she also gets told that there was not enough evidence to convict her attacker.

Since the contract is still in effect, she continues to be forced to work with the person who sexually assaulted her. That further proves that we live in a very patriarchal society, and what men say is worth far more than what women say. Women don’t get taken seriously in the judicial system. Justice is far from our reach in a man’s world.

Women’s rights are slowly declining with every court ruling telling the woman that she’s lying, or there is no evidence, or that she can’t abort the child that resulted from a rape. The fact that men can just decide what is best for a woman without her say in things is difficult to grasp. Women are constantly dragged down and treated like property by men, whether it be men taking away our human right to say no or have the right to freely make our own decisions about what goes on with our bodies ripped away. Women don’t own our bodies in today’s society, and we are reminded of that in the Kesha case.

It’s very degrading on many levels when young women see these cases on television or the Internet. They are being taught that they have no say in controlling their own lives, because all they see is men telling women what they can and can’t do. As a woman in America, I want to know that I can be protected by the government and not told that I just have to deal with my body getting exploited for the enjoyment of men.

All around the world, society puts the lack of women’s rights on the back burner. Society and social media don’t look closely into what is really going on, which misleads a lot of people. The misinformed mass majority do not know what is going on with this issue, so they think that it is solved. But we are still subjected to male standards of what a woman can and cannot do and say.

The Kesha case has opened America’s eyes to what is really going on and how unfair the judicial system really is. We, as a community and society, need to be better informed on these issues. Whether you are male or female, women’s rights do matter, and it is up to our generation to make a change. Women should get the right to own their bodies, and we will get justice.