Social justice – Boudica's Roar

It’s February 2019 and I’m on a flight to New York. Stationary hours stretch ahead of me. I’m halfway through my snacks and a mediocre book.

Fidgety, I scroll through the onboard entertainment. To my left, a sleeping husband and son, grant me my viewing freedom.

Endless choices blow my mind. I dally between chick flick, biopic and documentary. A bespectacled woman stares out from the screen. She wears a lace collar, her hair is scraped back, her eyes sharp. This was a lady who knew her ‘power.’

As I pressed play, I had no clue about the legend I was about to meet. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), Supreme Court Justice and liberal darling, was the subject of this story.

As we flew over the Atlantic I watched her life unfold. Born in Brooklyn, to Jewish parents, she shook taboos from the start. As a student she fought chauvinism for her place at Harvard Law School. She won the first tenured, female professorship at Columbia Law. She was a formidable champion of women’s rights and gender equality. She made history in 1993, as the second only female Justice (holding this position into her 80’s).

This woman was inspiring by anyone’s standards. She’d put her time on earth to great use. Her achievements had made her an icon to upcoming generations. She was formidable, exemplary and unique. Yet on that tiny screen, she came across as modest, diminutive, shy even.

The air hostess came bearing tea. I declined, riveted to the screen. My son woke, needing the bathroom. Reluctantly, I shepherded him up and down the aisle. I raced back to RBG.

As the pilot announced our descent, the film credits rolled. Days later, I would visit Brooklyn. I would imagine a young Ruth Bader walking under the bridge, holding her parents hands.

Flash forward, 20 months and I wake to the the announcement of her death. Complications from pancreatic cancer had cut her mission short.

It is a sad day, tears shall be shed. Her leaving is all the more stark as America fights for its soul. The world is in a dark place right now. The equality she fought for is under threat.

Yet her imprint shall remain. Ruth Bader Ginsburg blazed trails right to her last breath. We must continue the good fight, in honour of her outstanding legacy.

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020)

I’ve always had an opinion. I’ve always thought and felt deeply about things. Even through shyness I have found my voice when it counted. You know that strange feeling when you’re compelled to speak, to challenge; that heart racing, dry mouth moment?

Injustice galls me: meanness, exclusion, making others feel small. My parents taught me compassion and respect. As the daughter of social workers I grew up with a strong sense that I was fortunate. A burning sense that there was shameful inequality in this world.

I was brought up to care and to think and to act. Even through teenage trials and self doubt I held onto this sense of integrity. As a young woman, making my way in the world I hoped I might make a little difference. I pursued jobs that connected me with community. Roles that gave back – engaged the disenfranchised, unlocked creative learning, empowered people to take a positive, next step.

Globally, these are changing, volatile, times. I’ll never forget, January 21st 2017, watching thousands upon thousands of women taking part in the ‘Women’s March.’ As I watched pink-clad activists come together I was struck by the show of solidarity. The power we have when we unite, is limitless.

With a toupee wearing tyrant across the pond and a failing government at home – who knows where it’ll all end? I can’t help but feel that we are at a tipping point, with so much at stake. I worry about the threat of rolling back, hard-fought rights. I fear for the disregard we have for the planet. A drive to change things spurs me, for my son, for those that come after him.

So, I shall not sit on the sidelines. I shall argue for change and represent the causes that seek to do good. I shall use my voice and my vote, honouring the women that fought for this right.

I can be cautious, I can be shy but now is the time to be bold. My mum has always said I have a lion in side of me. I am mainly calm – but when I roar I roar!