The Power and Authority of Womanhood: A Call to Honor and Protect Female Voices

In a world that has long defined women through the narrow lenses of tradition, patriarchy, and power, it’s time to reclaim the narrative. As w

In a world that has long defined women through the narrow lenses of tradition, patriarchy, and power, it’s time to reclaim the narrative. As women, our experiences are rich, complex, and beautifully layered. Our stories are vast, our struggles are mighty, and our victories are nothing short of miraculous.

We stand on the shoulders of women who fought battles we can’t begin to imagine—women who dared to say, “We are here, and our voices matter.” We owe it to them, to ourselves, and to future generations to assert our right to define womanhood, to safeguard our hard-won rights, and to speak with authority on issues that shape our lives.

This isn’t about exclusion. It’s about preservation, respect, and truth. It’s about protecting the integrity of female experiences that have been silenced, diluted, or appropriated for far too long.

Sole Female Right to Define Womanhood

Let’s be clear: Only women can define womanhood. Not because we wish to exclude, but because womanhood is a journey paved with experiences that only we live. From the cultural traditions that shaped our girlhoods to the societal expectations that shadow our womanhood, these experiences are uniquely ours.

Womanhood is not a costume. It is not an identity that one can wear for a day or discard when inconvenient. It is the lived reality of navigating a world designed to police our bodies, our voices, and our existence. It’s the quiet strength of mothers who hold families together, the resilience of daughters who break generational curses, and the courage of sisters who speak truth to power.

Hattie Canty, a former hotel maid turned labor leader, understood this. As the President of the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas, she redefined womanhood as power, dignity, and resistance. She stood boldly at the intersection of race, gender, and class, fighting for economic justice and paving the way for women to rise in industries that sought to silence them.

Just like Hattie, Toni Morrison redefined womanhood through words. She told our stories with truth, grace, and unapologetic honesty. She wrote about the complex lives of Black women, preserving our narratives against a world that tried to erase us.

We carry their legacy forward by defining womanhood on our terms. We define our identities from a place of lived truth, not from an external gaze that seeks to limit, stereotype, or commercialize our existence.

Asserting Hard-Won Rights: We Will Not Go Back

Every right women have today was fought for—fiercely and fearlessly. The right to vote, to work, to own property, to access education, to control our reproductive choices—none of these were handed to us. They were won through blood, sweat, tears, and unyielding resistance against systems designed to keep us silent and small.

We have the right to assert these victories because they were fought for by women who risked everything. We will not allow their sacrifices to be erased or diluted.

Rosa Ingam and her sons, Wallace and Sammie Lee, were thrust into the spotlight of racial and gender injustice in 1948 when Rosa defended herself and her children from an attack by a white man in Georgia. Convicted of murder by an all-white jury, they were sentenced to death, sparking international outcry and mobilization led by Black women activists.

Rosa Ingram became a symbol of resistance against racial and gender oppression. Her fight was not just for freedom but for dignity and justice. Her courage, and the fight for her sons’ lives, revealed the intertwined struggles of Black womanhood and motherhood under a system designed to oppress.

Her story reminds us that our battles are not just for ourselves but for our children, our communities, and future generations. The fight for justice is ongoing, and the authority to lead this fight belongs to those who live the consequences of injustice.

We have the authority to protect and expand these rights because we are still fighting—against wage gaps, against violence, against healthcare systems that neglect us, and against policies that seek to control our bodies. Our rights are non-negotiable, and our voices will not be silenced.

Female Safety Rights: Our Bodies, Our Spaces, Our Safety

Women have the right to safety. The right to move through this world without fear of violence, harassment, or violation. The right to privacy and dignity in female-only spaces that were established to protect us.

This is not about hate or exclusion; it’s about protection. It’s about survival. Our safety rights were created because we live in a world where female bodies are targeted and exploited. We have the right to demand safety, to create boundaries, and to enforce them unapologetically.

Doreen Nambuya, a Kenyan human rights defender, knew this truth. She fought for the safety and dignity of women and girls facing gender-based violence. Her work saved lives and changed communities. She stood in the gap, ensuring that women’s safety was not a privilege but a fundamental right.

We have the right to define the terms of our safety because we are the ones most vulnerable to violence. We have the right to assert our boundaries because they are the walls that protect our dignity and our lives.

The Authority to Speak on Objectification

Women’s bodies have been commodified, objectified, and reduced to objects of consumption. We are told what to wear, how to look, and how to exist for the pleasure and approval of others.

We have the authority to speak on objectification because we live it. We know what it’s like to be valued only for beauty or youth, to be diminished to stereotypes, or to be erased when we refuse to conform.

Roberta Flack and Anita Baker knew this struggle. In an industry that often commodifies female bodies, they used their voices to redefine beauty, sensuality, and womanhood. They didn’t allow the industry to define them. They were not just voices; they were storytellers, soul-shakers, and truth-singers.

We are not objects. We are whole, complete, and sovereign. We have the right to reject definitions that diminish us, to challenge narratives that objectify us, and to redefine beauty on our own terms. Our bodies belong to us—no one else.

Our Voices on Environmental Justice and Health

Hazel M. Johnson, the mother of environmental justice, understood that women, especially Black and marginalized women, bore the brunt of environmental racism. She fought tirelessly for safe water, clean air, and healthy communities. She spoke with authority because she lived the consequences of pollution and neglect.

Women have the right to speak on health, safety, and environmental justice because we are the ones who fight to protect our children, our communities, and our futures.

A Promise to Ourselves and Our Daughters

We owe it to ourselves, to our ancestors, and to our daughters to protect the integrity of womanhood. We owe it to them to speak boldly, live fully, and fight fiercely.

We owe it to them to define womanhood on our terms, to assert our rights without apology, and to demand safety, dignity, and respect. We owe it to them to reclaim our narratives, own our voices, and protect our stories.

Our voices are power. Our experiences are truth. Our womanhood is sacred.

May we always honor it.
May we always protect it.
May we always defend it—together.

Join the Conversation

This conversation is just beginning. Your voice matters. Join us in reclaiming womanhood, asserting our rights, and protecting our narratives. Together, we can create a world that honors the dignity, power, and beauty of being a woman.

Let’s redefine the narrative—on our terms.
Let’s speak. Let’s lead. Let’s rise.