"The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We survivors say no more. [We are] no longer weak, [we are] no longer powerless and [we are] no longer alone.”
When Anouska De Georgiou, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s bottomless abuse, stepped to the podium at the U.S. Capital on a hot day in September and spoke those words, supported by a sisterhood of women who told their stories, the decades of silence gave way to the truth about unimaginable crimes. Undeterred by a flyover meant to obscure what they were saying didn’t phase them. Nor did the fear of retribution. They were on a mission, and nothing was going to stop them.
It was a milestone event that illustrated the power of women who stand up to bullies with courage and conviction. The women who spoke and rebutted the accusation that the event was “a hoax,” modeled with great dignity and oration that the time has come when women in all walks of life have had enough. In speaking truth to power they deserve our respect and gratitude.
They are part of a larger sisterhood that is spreading throughout every corner and sector of society “fired up and ready to go.” They form a choir of voices that insist on truth, accountability, and consequences when called for. They will not stop pushing back against the bullies who demean them, discard them, and disavow their rights.
They are in good and inspiring company. They stand on the shoulders of slaves, suffragists, and lots of other women who told the truth about their lives. Sojourner Truth was one of them. Her speech “Ain’t I a Woman,” delivered to a room full of 19th century misogynist men, rocked the room with her oratory. Alice Paul and her suffragist friends modeled speaking truth to power to get the vote, and writers like Virginia Woolf, Audrey Lorde, and Carolyn Heilbrunn are just a few examples of women who used their literary voices to support women who refused to be ignored or silenced.
In this moment there are women in every sector of society who refuse to be quiet. Among them are three women on the Supreme Court who fire back at their conservative colleagues when they empower a wannabe dictator. Justice Ketanji Jackson Brown stands out among them. Known for choosing her words carefully she doesn’t mince words. She has accused the majority of favoring “the creation of a zone of lawlessness within which the executive has the prerogative to take or leave the law as it wishes,” adding that the majority poses a “profound “danger to the country.” Her colleagues, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, are no wallflowers either. Neither are the judges in lower courts who have tried their best to keep the House of Trump in check.
Among them are Roberta Kaplan who helped E. Jean Carroll win a huge victory over the president for sexual abuse, Letetia James, the attorney general of New York who is standing up to Donald Trump, and Tanya Chutkin, who serves as a U. S. district judge for the District of Columbia. She vigorously refuted the president’s attempt to be shielded from prosecution when he argued that his actions fell within his duties as commander-in-chief.
Then there are the women warriors in Congress, past and present, who never failed to speak truth to power in amazing ways. Barbara Mikulski (D- MD), Pat Schroeder (D-CO) and Corie Bush (D-MO) were among them, and of course Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) have made their mark. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) are also among the sisterhood making a difference.
Women at the state level are equally vociferous. Ever watch the Attorney General of Colorado, Jena Griswold? Or the governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, along with the mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu. The governor of Maine, Janet Mills, is someone to watch, along with the two women running for governor of their states, Mikie Sherill (NJ) and Abigail Spanberger (VA).
Some of the best women warriors remain nameless but wonderfully effective. There are multitudes of women who organize marches or sit-ins, fight like fury for gun control, quit good jobs, run for local office, and speak out at town halls because they won’t accept corruption or political chicanery.
Women journalists, historians, writers, artists, social justice organizers and advocates like Tarana Burke, founder of the Me-Too movement, are also women who speak truth to power. Ida Tarbell wrote about corporate greed in the early 20th century, Ida B. Wells exposed the evils of slavery, and Nellie Bly, went underground to expose what happened to women in asylums. More contemporary women writers and artists continue to expose the truth of women’s lives, enabling others like those who stood on the Capital steps to release their rage and translate it into action.
Today’s women are as committed and courageous as those who bore witness at the Capital and demanded accountability and reform. Brava to every one of them, and to those they have inspired to speak their truth and to continue using their voices until justice prevails.
We owe them all a debt of gratitude.