Bella Abzug Quotes
Imperfect though it may be, the Beijing Platform for Action is the strongest statement of consensus on women's equality, empowerment and justice ever produced by governments.
Abzug, Bella. Plenary Speech. Fourth World Conference on Women, 12 Sept. 1995, Beijing, China.
Turkey, the only Islamic nation where women have equal rights, made huge developmental and reform strides immediately after Ataturk reformed Turkish society and gave women the vote, freed them from veils and chadors, educated them and gave them equal employment rights. Turkey moved from an impoverished 3rd world nation to a modern industrialized democracy.
Although Mao attempted to reform Chinese sexist culture and practice, his and other efforts are taking hold very slowly. Into the 21st century, the Chinese Communist party included women but not at the highest levels where the traditional practice of selecting leaders was to choose elderly males. Part of the prejudice agaist female leaders results from Chinese history where women have ruled or controlled China at several points, but none performed well. This is unlike the experiences of England, India, Israel, and other nations where women have been very successful and respected leaders. There is an American NGO in China, providing assistance to women, which has adopted the name “Half the Sky” and it is the title of a book by Nicholas Kristoff and a record album by Ruby Turner.
In contemporary Iran, no one has any freedom in the International and Western sense of freedom. There is no freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to travel, freedom of the press, freedom of dress, or other fundamental freedoms of not only the West but the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. However, within those restrictions, women tend to be treated more equally than in other Islamic Middle Eastern nations. Not completely equal as they have many additional restrictions that males do not have, but they can work, freely, teach and hold some positions of responsibility and power which women may not do in much of the Islamic world.
Bella Savitzky Abzug, nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, U.S. Representative, social activist and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus. She was known as a leading figure in what came to be known as eco-feminism.
