The war on women

Dear editor:

Based on a real incident set during the Crusades of the 14th Century, if a woman was raped, she generally kept it to herself for good reason. Raping a woman was not a crime against the woman, but was a property crime so a crime against a husband, if there was one. In the film, she was married to a knight who was off fighting in the Crusades and a man he had considered a friend, raped his wife. She told her husband when he returned and he filed suit against the rapist and the king and asked for a duel. At that time of theocratic rule alongside a king, if the duel took place and the husband lost, it was felt that showed God chose the truth, so it meant the wife lied about being raped. Should that happen, she would be stripped, shorn (of hair) lashed to a wooden post by a collar, whipped then burned alive.

Women have long been considered the property of men and not allowed to control property themselves until more recently. In the U.S., we had fewer rights of property ownership than back then, when at least the widow who was raped could keep her property, not so in the U.S. in the 19th century. We did not get the vote until 1920. We needed a man’s signature to buy on credit until the 1970s and in some states, women could still be beaten legally until the 1980s, for God’s sake. And now, the Republican Party isn’t satisfied, and it’s women as their latest target to war against as a new campaign tool. Being against all minority groups, against gays, immigrants, trans children, unions, teachers, education, voting rights, Postal Service, and ban books they disagree with, this latest war on women is bringing out the worst of the worst in these soulless men who lack all compassion for anyone and care only for their jobs. They will not stop until we wind back the clock to the 1700s. You see, they offer nothing to the people but hate, fear and poverty, so they have to have something to campaign on, and we’re just one of many targets.

Judith Zitko Hot Springs Village