Despite setbacks, Mormon woman sees hope for ERA

Six days after he signed on as a cosponsor to a measure that would make Arizona the 38th state to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state Rep. Tyler Pace pulled his name from the bill.

But Pace, R-Mesa, wasn’t done. He invited Anissa Rasheta to join him at a public meeting on Jan. 31 in Mesa to talk about the ERA. Rasheta is a member of Mormons for ERA in Arizona.

Pace told the 50 people in attendance that he called Mormon church leaders in Utah. He said he was told the church, which has opposed the ERA in the past, was neutral on the issue.

Rasheta believes the ERA would provide a clearer judicial standard for deciding cases of sex discrimination, an area where courts are inconsistent.

Younger women in the church hear her out. Older women tend to oppose it.

Rasheta was like that, too. “If the church had a stance, I was done. I accepted it. I didn’t look into it,” she said.

Some concerns are moot. Abortion is legal. Gay people can marry. Women fight in combat.

They say, “We already have all our rights,” (80 percent of Americans think the ERA passed) or, “I feel equal.” But equality is not a feeling.

In today’s economy, few families can get by on one income, and 40 percent of women are the head of household. The pay gap hurts their families.

Rasheta is not surprised. Some of the loudest opponents of the suffrage movement were women.

“I’m just going to work my tail off to get this to passed, knowing that in 100 years people will wonder why the fuss,” she said.

“The energy around it is way different,” she said of the renewed debate. Women’s marches brought donations and volunteers. Public support is high. Until then, she’ll keep talking about it.

“I’m using my voice to help my sisters,” Rasheta said. “Until all of us are equal, none of us are.”