"We Can Do It!"

This is a short story I wrote for the National History Day Competition. My story is about a girl named Brayleigh Kaur who follows in Alice Paul's footsteps. Kaur explains Paul's leadership and legacy.

Feminism. Fighting for equality for the sexes, not advancing one over the other. That is what it means to be a feminist and that is how I got here.  I am currently in a jailhouse called “Occoquan” that is located in Virginia. I am jailed for protesting with a few other women. I got here by participating in a feminist protest. I am jailed for fighting for what I believe in. I will start by stating the obvious: men and women are equal. Some do not accept this, but all I want is to be free. I knew confinement would be my fate the second I stepped outside protesting, but I do not care. I refuse to back down. I refuse to just watch. I refuse to be seen as weak. I refuse gender roles. I refuse to let people think being called a woman is a bad thing. I am here to fight and I will fight till I get what I want. We can do it.

It sure is brutal in Occoquan. I, Brayleigh Kaur, have watched other women get abused  daily. From a blow to the head, to kicks, to getting choked. I really have seen it all. I feel it all too. I mean, a good whack to the head makes me forget how hungry I am. Vomit. Vomit. Vomit. Blood. Blood. Blood. That’s what it is like living here. Did I mention that I live with roaches, rats, and mice as well?  I can honestly say that I lost hope for a while. I kept thinking, “It will always be this way.” I began to have unpleasant thoughts until I found something in my cell last night. A little something belonging to Alice Paul. Yes, Alice Paul. The equal rights activist from the 1900’s. Her journal lay right in the tank of my toilet. I found it as I was trying to ignore the roaches in my cell. I just began to look around and there it was. Reading her struggle for equality made me realize that we can do it.

Leader. That is what Alice Paul was. If a person had to describe her, he or she would use that word. Paul was inspired in 1907 by Pankhurst women. She met these suffragettes in England who endorsed direct and visible measures to gain the right to vote, such as heckling, window smashing, and rock throwing to raise awareness of the suffrage war. Paul joined the Pankhurst women to protest, being jailed in the process. Eventually, she was jailed in Occoquan. It’s hard to believe she was in the same hell that I am currently in, but let’s just go back a bit. Paul joined NAWSA after she returned from England in 1910. The suffragette realized that the nonviolent strategy NAWSA was using would never be affective. She took charge of NAWSA in Washington D.C., creating a plan to march around the White House, Treasury Building, and the United States Capitol Building. On March 3, 1913, Paul lead the biggest protest in American History. She and other members of NAWSA marched on these grounds, gaining attention from many people about the issue. Paul eventually split from NAWSA because she and Carrie Chapman Catt did not have the same mind. She started to focus on leading the NWP in 1916. The NWP became known for their aggressive strategies. Paul and her women did something that truly shocked the nation. On January 10, 1917, the NWP picketed the White House under the Woodrow Wilson administration. The women stayed outside with banners and continued to protest throughout World War I. President Woodrow Wilson supported the suffragettes, encouraging them and giving the women articles of clothing when the cold months came. As the protests went on, the public viewed these riots as unpatriotic. The public started to attack suffragettes and police jailed them. This is when Paul came to Occoquan. Her radicalism expanded here and served as the most crucial role in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Just like me, Paul was stuck in this cold, dark, and wet cell. Rats everywhere, the air fetid. Women getting beat left and right. I confirmed this earlier, since I deal with this on a daily basis. Sounds wonderful, am I right? Ten days after being imprisoned, Paul started a hunger strike, believing that it would reverse the poor treatment of her fellow friends. The jail police responded to this by force feeding her three times a day and put her into solitary confinement. Police hoped that she would be identified as mentally insane so that her leadership of the NWP would end. After being checked by a physchatrist, she was considered sane and a martyr. The psychiatrist compared her to Joan of Arc because Paul would do anything to achieve her goal. The public soon heard about the treatment at Occoquan, which caused them to be on the NWP’s side. As a result of public sympathy, Alice Paul and her women were released from the jailhouse and continued to picket. Women’s suffrage was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 20, 1920. They did it!

Alice Paul’s leadership is what gave women the right to vote. The suffragette gave and did everything for equal rights. Reading her journal has inspired me and has me thinking of one question. What is her legacy? The answer is me. I am her legacy, along with the women I am with at Occoquan. All feminists are her legacy. We may not be fighting for the right to vote, but we are fighting for something she has always wanted. Paul, other women, and I want gender equality.That is why we fight and that is why we continue to live.  I am what she left behind. I am her successor. I will become the leader of my generation. I, Brayleigh Kaur, will become the warrior she was. That is a promise. I will not fail Alice Paul. We understand you, Paul. Paul is the reason why we still fight today. Paul helps us acknowledge that poor and unfair treatment should not be tolerated. Women are as great as men. We can do it. We can do what they can. Women who are willing to fight is what she left behind. This is exactly what Paul wanted. She wants her message to spread and I will do that for her. I will educate people on feminism and tell them all about Alice Paul. Thank you for being an inspiration, Paul. I will fight even more now and this will live on. This is all because of her. Tonight, I will somehow get the other ladies in on a hunger strike. I choose to follow Alice Paul’s strategy. I pray it works. I can do it!

I am leaving this letter in my cell for one reason. If you are reading this, that means I did not make it. I surely hope this letter gets put into good hands. I hope that not only Alice Paul inspires you, but I do too. I leave this to you because I need you to carry on my legacy, not only Paul’s. I hope that you truly understand the legacy I am trying to leave behind. Start off where I left off. Protest. Protest wisely and carefully. First, look up the true meaning of feminism. Read multiple sources until you understand why it is relevant and why we need it. Second, find or create a group. Gather people who feel the same way you do. Talk about what you can do to get what you want, but most importantly what you can do to get others to listen. Discuss your options. Third, come together and be creative. How will you get your point across? What is your strategy? What is your message? What is your goal? Finally, educate others, protest, write a letter to government officials, or simply do what you think is best! Getting others to understand is how you will get support. That is the key. Sadly, I did not live to see equality of the sexes. This does not mean I am a failure. I was just a sacrifice for the process and I am very much alright with that. I went as far as death for equal rights for all genders. Now, I am not saying that you have to go that far as well. That is clearly up to the reader or readers of this letter. I just ask for you to support the cause of gender equality. We are all entitled to human rights, simply because we are human beings. We are alive and we are special. We are great people. All of us. Get involved and get others involved too. Make a change. You are in charge. I leave my legacy up to you because sexism is all I have ever known and a “woman” is all I ever was. You can change that. Remember that you are the future. It is entirely up to you to change the world. I leave it to you, good luck. You can do it!

Reviews

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

Very hopeful and inspirational!

[Chris Pereira]

Thanks! :)