Rita Panahi: If Moira Deeming were a Greens or Labor MP, she’d be celebrated by the media

It’s clear that attacks against conservative women are tolerated, or ignored, by the very people who claim to be appalled by such conduct.

The past week has demonstrated yet again that conservative women are held to a very different standard than other women in public life. Not only are they seen as easy targets by the increasingly feral Left but they remain unprotected by the “sisterhood” as well as their feckless faux-conservative colleagues.

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s disgraceful treatment is the most glaring local example of a woman being subjected to bullying, victim blaming and character assassination – and that’s just from her own party leaders.

After being attacked by violent far-Left protesters at a Let Women Speak rally, she was incredibly held responsible for the actions of around 20 moronic Nazi protesters and on Monday was suspended for nine months by colleagues.

Moira Deeming has been subjected to bullying, victim blaming and character assassination – and that’s just from her own party leaders. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

As I wrote last week, opposition leader John Pesutto could’ve taken a principled and populist stand for truth and women’s rights but instead he opted to be the premier’s and the media’s useful idiot.

To compound the insult, Pesutto falsely claimed on Monday that Deeming had made certain last-minute concessions, including condemning the women behind the event. She did no such thing.

But while Pesutto was telling tall tales to various ABC hosts, Deeming was muzzled. If she were a Greens or Labor MP, she’d be celebrated by the media, who have casually and repeatedly defamed her.

Even being a “woman of colour” is not enough to afford conservative women any protection or expectation of fairness. From Priti Patel in the UK to Nikki Haley in the US, it’s clear that racist, sexist attacks against conservative women are tolerated, or ignored, by the very people who claim to be appalled by such conduct.

On Friday, we saw another conservative woman reduced to tears in parliament after being attacked by Labor Senator Murray Watt for supporting Deeming.

Sarah Henderson has since referred the matter to the Senate President, saying Watt’s explanation “improperly misrepresented the abhorrent and offensive statement he made about me in the Senate”.

Sarah Henderson was reduced to tears in parliament after being attacked by Labor Senator Murray Watt.

The treatment of women, particularly in Parliament House, has been elevated to a top-line issue by Labor and the wider Left, and yet there was no outcry from feminist pundits and politicians.

Where is their support for Senator Henderson and condemnation of comments that reduced a strong woman to weep in her workplace? The silence of those who claim to champion women has been deafening.