Women have right to vote, and it’s critical that they exercise it

On Tuesday, we celebrated Women’s Equality Day, the anniversary of the day when women were given the right to vote in the United States.

Ninety-four years ago, the 19th Amendment was finally passed after women across the country fought for decades for the right to assert an equal voice in our democracy.

Today, as women, as a state and as a nation, we celebrate this important victory and the progress we have made — but we must not forget how much we have to protect and how far we still have to go.

Hawaii has a long and proud history of protecting women’s health and rights, but we still have a great deal of work to do, from ending sexual assault on campuses to instituting paid family leave to providing our keiki with comprehensive sexual health education. We should remember that it was only last year when hospitals were finally required to provide sexual assault victims with access to emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy after a rape.

On the national level, we are still fighting to protect access to basic health care for ourselves and our families against a wave of attacks from politicians seeking to send women back to the dark ages, on everything from reproductive health care to equal pay to violence against women.

History has a way of repeating itself — and as we honor women’s right to vote, we must continue to advocate for women’s health and equal rights in the upcoming election. The stakes are high and we can’t afford to lose. Our lives depend on it.

It’s shocking that 94 years after many women gained the right to vote, we’re still debating whether women should have access to basic health care. Yet, just a few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that a woman’s boss should be able to dictate her access to birth control based solely on his own personal beliefs — essentially relegating female employees back to second-class status.

And it’s not just the court — throughout the country, state governments and politicians are shutting down health centers that provide safe and legal abortion, limiting access to contraception, and telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies.

Ninety-four years ago, women were given the right to make their voices heard and the right to have a say in who represents them in our government. Now, women must use this foundational right to elect leaders who will restore common sense to our government and ensure that elected officials protect and promote the rights of women rather than spend their days trying to figure out how to interfere in our personal decisions.

There is no better way to honor the women who fought for our right to vote than to exercise that right by voting on Nov. 4 for candidates who support women’s health and equal rights.

Let’s continue to move our country and our state forward, not back. The message to candidates up and down the ballot is clear: Women are watching, and we vote.