A Manifesto: The Forthcoming Revolution Led by Women

The reverberations from the overturning of Roe v Wade continue as women in the United States try to digest losing 50 years of precedent to their right to an abortion. But even over 167 million Americans just lost their right to bodily autonomy, we continue to celebrate Independence Day as a nation. So as we barbecue, watch fireworks displays and spend time with those we love, let us remember what we are actually celebrating.

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was passed by the Continental Congress. Just days earlier, Congress had voted in favor of independence from Great Britain after the bloody American revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War gaining independence from the Crown, establishing the constitution that created the United States of America, the first modern constitutional liberal democracy.

Two hundred and forty six years later, we are witnessing the unraveling of this experiment in liberal democracy through the concerted efforts of bigoted men and women who seem to believe democracy has run its course. The overturning of Roe is not just a rolling back of rights for women, it is the continuation on the war on democracy that began with the birth of the Tea Party and gained momentum with the rise of Trumpism in America.

For democracy loving folks and for those of us who have been in the fight, we all knew this day was coming. There has always been a far-right fundamentalist faction within the United States body politic driven by religious ideology. But despite the hard fought freedoms led by women as well as black and brown people in this country, it has been clear that they were not going to stop until they reached their ultimate goal: keeping white patriarchy alive at all costs.

Stripping women of their rights is just the tip of the iceberg — next on the list will be voting rights, marriage equality, and every other freedom we’ve all enjoyed and taken for granted for so long. The Supreme Court has signaled that this is coming and we should all be prepared and take them seriously at their word.

Coupled with a most certain presidential run by Trump in 2024, we are facing not only a constitutional crisis, but a global political and social realignment where autocracy becomes the status quo. We came dangerously close to this with World War II, but luckily the Allied powers prevailed. This time around, who will we look to to save America from the perils of fascism? NATO? Europe? Canada?

I believe the time has come for every democracy-loving citizen of this country to wake up to the fact that we are in the throes of a political coup and if January 6th was any indication, we should all fully expect another Civil War in our lifetimes.

And that is why it is time for women to take bold and radical action to lead our country away from the threats of annihilation.

Women must stand up now and decide that we will not go gently into the night.

We will not sit back and watch while our hard-won freedoms are ruthlessly taken away.

We will not succumb to raising our children in a country with less rights. We will fight to the last drop to defend what we know in our hearts is possible — an inclusive, equal, diverse America that guarantees freedom, human rights and democracy for ALL.

The time has come for the rising of the Sacred Feminine. To harness the power that originates in our wombs. And for all who identify as women to use their voice, creativity, and leadership to organize a revolution never before seen in the history of the world.

I am calling for an unarmed, peaceful velvet revolution in America led by women and girls, in a full resistance movement to the extreme far-right fascist dictatorship that has infiltrated every institution of the United States government and is aiming to turn this country into an autocracy.

We cannot wait for politicians, grassroots activists, or our legal system to prevail. They will not.

We cannot wait for the mid-term elections. It will be too late.

We cannot hope for a miracle. It will not come.

What we can and must do is turn inwards, remember our power and call on our ancestors to give us the courage to resist.

And then carve a new path forward through example and fortitude.

What this actually means on the ground depends on those who decide to step forward and lead. I have every confidence in the earth-shattering potential of women when they gather and unleash their creative wildness as a force for good. This is the moment we have been waiting for. This is the moment we rise and form the next Women’s Revolution.

I will offer a few tidbits here to wake up the creative juices in how we might organize this Women’s Revolution, but by no means is this an exhaustive list. Take it as the beginnings of what a modern day women’s revolution could and should look like.

1) Call on our ancestors to help us unite and act through grace. Invite indigenous grandmothers and elders to hold space for women to rise.

2) All women working together - whether you were born as one or not. Cease playing identity politics or pointing fingers to what women are doing wrong and create a truly intersectional feminist, community-based revolution.

3) While we still have relative access to it, utilize technology to organize, plan, and prepare. But be smart and use encrypted apps such as Signal.

4) Organize on a local level, call on all democracy loving organizations to come together and leverage their collective power. Progressives and centrist democrats need to work together. Now.

5) Stage sit-ins in every crosswalk across America with strollers, play music in the streets, dance in public places. Organize a velvet revolution.

6) Use art as a statement.

7) Hold dialogue salons to discuss solutions and practice reconciliation with minority/disenfranchised groups.

8) Raise money and support National Abortion Funds, use your money for good.

9) Write a collective letter signed by all women at your company asking your leadership to do more to support women’s rights. Ask for paid time off to participate in the Revolution.

10) Invite men who are allies to join our efforts and support women to run for political office and rise into leadership at all levels of our organizations and institutions.

11) Run for political office — Emerge and Emily’s List show you how.

There are so many other ways we can activate our full potential. I invite you to offer your ideas here by commenting and let’s create a co-created, living manifesto for action.

But here is the thing. This will require sacrifice.

It might require giving up your Netflix addiction . Maybe even dinners with your girlfriends. Or trips to the hair salon. It might require you to ask your partner to cook dinner or to pick up the kids from school. It will require taking risks, being vulnerable and moving into service from a place of love rather than a place of hate.

And furthermore, to white women of this country — now is the time for you to join this Revolution, too. Do not pretend you are not a target in this. You are not safe. When fascism descends, it will come for you as well. So put aside your privilege and join your fellow women in creating a more just and equal world instead of allowing fear and control of patriarchy to strip you of your freedoms.

In the end, we must look to history to understand where we are and where we are headed. But we cannot look to history to necessarily show us the way out. We must innovate and use our hearts as a lighthouse to guide our way forward. The time has come for women to rise.