Women’s Rights Demonstrators Rally at Oklahoma Capitol
For Madeline Benham, a demonstration Saturday on the steps of the Capitol in Oklahoma City was, in part, a demonstration against backpedaling.
Benham rallied in the same spot for women’s rights in 1973 at a demonstration to support the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Oklahoma was among the 15 states that did not ratify the amendment banning discrimination based on sex.
“We didn’t get that passed,” Benham said. “I didn’t worry about it too much. It still seemed to me the world was a possible place. You could get along.”
Decades later, Benham said women’s rights — especially reproductive rights — are under attack.
“These rights were really important, and we thought we had it licked,” she said.
“Increasingly in the last few years, that’s changing,” she said. “Those rights that we fought so hard for seem to be disappearing. They’re under attack. We have to think about the next generation of women, not just us.”
250 join in
Benham was among more than 250 protesters Saturday at the state Capitol.