Rita Panahi: The latest women’s movement hijacked by political opportunism

The latest women’s movement has been co-opted by political operatives focused on defeating their ideological opponents, not advancing the cause of women.

It’s utterly false to suggest that all women in this country are seething with rage, feel oppressed, helpless and view Australia as riddled with systemic sexism.

We are a country where women are afforded every protection under the law and every opportunity to succeed but pockets of significant disadvantage sadly persist.

Our Indigenous women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised due to domestic violence. Where are the marches for them?

We have around 53,000 women in Australia living with female genital mutilation? But there’ll be no marches for them either

They are not useful to activists who want to target the prime minister and paint him as an unfeeling misogynist.

Twisting real concerns about violence against women into a partisan issue won’t advance the cause of women.

The debasement of the issue hit a new low on Tuesday when Opposition leader Anthony Albanese bizarrely mentioned the Christchurch massacre and suggested the PM had claimed women were lucky not be shot during the protest. Another twisting of facts to paint a sick narrative.

None of this helps women.

Thousands of protesters attend the March 4 Justice rallies across the nation.

The truth is all women care about violence, sexual assault and the shortcomings of a justice system that too often re-traumatises victims, and yet the March4Justice rallies we saw on Monday do not represent all Australian women. Far from it.

What we have seen in recent weeks is the cynical hijacking of a consequential issue that should be above politics.

Sadly, just like the #MeToo movement, this latest “awakening” has been co-opted by political operatives and grifters primarily focused on defeating their ideological opponents, rather than advancing the cause of women.

Of course many of the women who took part in the rallies are genuinely concerned and it’s sad that they are being used as pawns by those with clear political objectives that have nothing to do with women’s safety, equality or justice.

It’s reminiscent of the Women’s March movement that began in 2017 as a response to Trump’s election win, with women taking to the streets across the world including here in Australia.

This co-opting of women’s rights by the Left is a tactic that can alienate large segments of the female population.

At Monday’s march in Canberra there were speeches calling on Scott Morrison to step down. Another speaker said: “Let’s make a change in the parliament, Kick the Liberal Party out.”

At rallies around the country protesters carried banners calling coalition MPs liars and worse, much worse. Not surprising given the organiser of the March4Justice rally, Janine Hendry, is a Leftist activist who is vehemently opposed to the Coalition who she believes “defraud the public into voting for them.” That’s a lot of defrauding given the Coalition has won seven of the last nine federal elections.

Janine Hendry, spokesperson for the March 4 Justice, refused to meet with the Prime Minister.

Morrison offered to meet Hendry to discuss her objectives but she refused, demanding a public meeting instead of one behind closed doors. Now does that sound like someone wanting to campaign for women or someone looking to publicly embarrass the PM?

Hendry tweeted this in January: “We need a Lincoln project team in Australia if we’re going to truly get the message of #ScottyFromMarketing and his lackey’s incompetence, lies and rorting out there — we need to get organised. Hit me up with your ideas? We need cash, leadership and a band of creatives.”

When someone pointed out that Leftist activist group GetUp! already exists she responded with: “Too broad – we need a narrow focus only on the LNP.”

Incidentally, the dodgy “Lincoln Project” has been laid low by a succession of sexual harassment scandals.

The fact that the PM offered to meet with a political operative devoted to his downfall shows that he is willing to overlook politics to discuss the issues at hand, but the activist class is not.

If the main concern is justice for victims of male violence then that is a matter for state governments, I for one would welcome strengthening minimum sentences for rape and other serious offences.

But at the rally some speakers decried notions such as “due process” and “presumption of innocence”.

Sadly, these are not constructive arguments in creating a safer or fairer society.

Neither is the lynch mob mentality that elements of the media have embraced in recent weeks. Yes, the justice system is imperfect and should be improved but to rail against “due process” is profoundly troubling and backward.

As is often said about democracy, it’s the worst system of government except all others. And, so it is with the presumption of innocence, which is a cornerstone of our legal system.

It may not be perfect but it is preferable to any other option.

Surely, as Blackstone’s ratio dictates, it’s better to have 10 guilty men or women go free than to have one innocent person convicted.

IN SHORT

Parliament House’s toxic culture deserves condemnation but there are no easy answers beyond instituting measures such as “bonking bans”. Of course, it would help if a better quality of human was attracted to political life.