Kimberle Crenshaw presents the challenges that women encounter in their daily lives in various societies. The scholar explains the ways through which women have been using to reclaim their rightful positions in society. For instance, the author explains that violence is the major hindrance to the realization of individual goals among women and notes further that this is considered a routine that has been affecting their lives.
Feminists have come together to share their experiences that have helped them come to the realization that these injustices can best be fought through political instruments, as they have come to the realization that the political demands of millions speak strongly than the appeals of a few secluded voices.
The writer observes that injustices, such as wife battering and rape, were viewed in the traditional society as private issues that women were not expected to share with the public (Crenshaw 1241).
Again, aberrational, also referred to as errant sexual aggression, was an issue that affected women for many years, but a solution was not provided until recently when the problem is largely acknowledged as part of a broad-scale system of domination that influences the lives of women of all classes and a lasting solution has to be provided.
In the modern society, the recognition of social and systemic process of domination and subjugation is considered a long journey towards finding a permanent solution. Consequently, various groups, including women of color, gays, lesbians, and African-Americans are aware of the problems that they face in society and they have devised ways through which they can manipulate the system to ensure their survival.
All groups share one characteristic, which is employing identity-based politics in developing the solution, as this provides the strength, the sense of community, and intellectual knowledge. However, the scholar observes that the use of identity politics in advocating for the rights of the group raises tension because of the issue of social justice.
Kimberle Crenshaw’s view sheds light on Assanta Shakur’s experiences in the sense that she expresses the same problems that women faced in the United States, as Shakur’s autobiography suggests. Shakur gives a touching story of a poor African-American woman who sought healthcare services in one of the public hospitals in the country after sustaining serious injuries in a shootout.
JoAnne Chesimard (Black Panther Assata Shakur) was almost dying in a hospital bed, but the police never cared about his condition, as they went on to ask her about the shootout incident that had taken place in New Jersey (Shakur 24).
The author observes that local, state, and federal security agents were only concerned with the information that the poor woman held, but they never considered her health given the fact that she was in a critical condition. The white state trooper had lost his life in the shootout, but the state agents were not concerned with saving the life of the African-American woman.
The state security agencies accused Shakur of shooting and killing the white trooper, even though there was no enough evidence supporting the claim. Shakur’s incarceration was based on the propaganda that had been extended by Edgar against blacks with an aim of defaming the black race, infiltrating the African-American, and criminalizing the nationalists and those fighting for the rights of the blacks.
The poor African-American woman was enslaved for four years before being imprisoned based on delicate evidence in 1977, with claims that she was co-conspirator in the assassination of the white trooper. Shakur notes that the state and the media presented blacks as bad people who were the major threat to the development of the country, which was never the case.
The government never gave blacks a chance to realize their potentials meaning that it only aimed at fulfilling the interests of the whites. Shakur decided to engage in activism after realizing that the government was weak and never wanted the blacks to exercise their rights in the country.
Similarly, Kimberle Crenshaw observes that the government supported male domination in society, as it opposed identify-based politics, terming it illegal and sensitive to the country’s security.
On her part, Angela Davis notes that feminism its related activism is a new phenomenon that aim at preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, even though a heated debate locally, nationally, and internationally is ongoing regarding the relevance of activists and politicians focused on feminist issues.
Women in various prisons are aware of their rights and they are opposed to the idea of using them as objects to satisfy the wishes and desires of men (Davis 341). She notes that men are naturally violent and they always engage their spouses in conflicts without specific reasons, which results in manslaughter.
In this regard, she notes that all women in prisons should be handed amnesty, especially those who killed their husbands because they might have acted to save their lives. Unfortunately, the government is reluctant to listen to the pleas of feminist activities.
Kimberle Crenshaw observes that women are unable to achieve their interests because the government is indifferent to their sufferings. This claim supports the views of Davis as both underscore the fact that social structure does not help women in any way since men own and control it.
Works Cited
Crenshaw, Kimberle. “Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color.” Harvard Law School, 1.1 (1984): 1241-1299.Print
Davis, Angela. “Public Imprisonment and Private Violence: Reflections on the Hidden Punishment of Women.” New England Journal on Criminal and Civic Confinement 24:2 (1998):339–351.Print.
Shakur, Assata. Assata: An Autobiography. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1999. Print.