Malai Yousufzai said, “I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is education. And I am afraid of no one.” On Tuesday, Oct. 9, the Taliban shot this 14-year-old Pakistani girl on her way home from school because she promoted education for girls.
Amnesty International stated, “Education is not just a human right — it’s also a crucial safeguard against violence and discrimination.”
The Republican candidates for president and vice president have a budget that would cut billions from universal public education. They would support charter schools for profit, funded by tax dollars, for those who could afford it. America has given Pakistan billions of dollars in military aid and only a few million to support education.
Amnesty International writes, “Living free from violence and discrimination is a human right, yet millions of girls like Malala suffer from gender-based violence in their homes, in their communities, even at the hands of the state.”
President Obama’s first act of office was to sign The Lilly Ledbetter Act, which guaranteed women the right to sue for equal pay for equal work. Running on the platform of creating jobs, the election of 2010 gave Republicans a House majority.
Their priority has been legislation to intrusively intervene in women’s lives while blocking job creation.
The Republican candidates for executive and legislative branches seek to overturn the judicial branch’s support of women’s rights. The Republicans want to defund Planned Parenthood, which promotes the total health of poor women.
The purpose of government is to protect all its citizens from those who do violence to them, which includes the suppression and intimidation of their right to vote, their right to a quality education, and the freedom of harm by individuals and the government.
Jim Powell
Harrodsburg
