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The Witch-
hunt
The witch-hunt was already in full swing when Australia’s most
famous feminist, Germaine Greer, criticized Gillard for the cut of
her jackets which was supposedly an attempt to cover a big bum!
Gillard was restrained in calling these remarks, “catty and stupid.”
Both men and women thought it appropriate to comment on and
criticize highly personal choices over which no male Prime Minister
has ever faced scrutiny; her sexuality, her partner’s sexuality, her
partner’s suitability as a Prime Minister’s companion, her childless
state. Was she deliberately barren? Her big thighs and small breasts.
The list goes on.
Many accused Gillard of merely playing the ‘gender card’ in order
to deflect from the real issues of government. In her resignation
speech as Prime Minister, Gillard directly addressed the question of
her fate as the first female Prime Minister. Her intelligent response
was to state, “her gender was not everything but nor was it nothing.”
She requested sophisticated analysis of the issue and Rightly so. For
while she is justifiably proud of being the first female Prime Minister
and undoubtedly thereby making it easier for the next woman and
the one after that, she is well aware of the battle she faced and the
forces against her whilst in office. She knows that despite her success,
women are still, for the most part, paid less than men, and are
underrepresented in senior ranks in almost all disciplines.
Think about this. It is certainly possible that someone sitting in
this room may go on to be Prime Minister of this country. Not
beyond possibility but not a given either. Gillard admirably showed
that the work to champion gender equality is still far from done.
The females in this room being subject to the privilege of a good
education have a responsibility to take up this challenge. To have the
courage to take on sexism, speak out for gender equality; these are
the legacies of Julia Gillard. It is up to us to make witch-hunts a
thing of the past.
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