American women fear attacks on rights after Trump victory

NEW YORK // Voters in the United States this week rejected their country’s first realistic chance of electing a female president, and women advocacy groups are warning that the defeat of Hillary Clinton by Donald Trump, infamous for his misogynistic behaviour, may hurt women’s rights.

Mr Trump, a political outsider and real estate mogul who has been accused by several women of sexual assault, drew much media attention during his campaign for making crass comments about women.

He was also criticised and ridiculed for calling Mrs Clinton a “nasty woman” after she accused him of avoiding taxes during the final presidential debate last month, prompting her female supporters to adopt the label in campaigning for her.

Mr Trump’s victory triggered fury and despair among women in the US who had high hopes of seeing Mrs Clinton, a role model for many young women in the country, triumphantly break a glass ceiling and make history as America’s first female president.

Now, many female Clinton supporters warn that Mr Trump’s presidency may hurt women’s rights in issues such as equal treatment in the workplace, obtaining aid in cases of physical or emotional abuse, and getting abortions. Trump opponents expect him to appoint supreme court justices who may weaken women’s rights if given the opportunity. They also say he has few women on his shortlists of appointments for cabinet positions or the supreme court.

Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organisation for Women’s New York City chapter, felt “a painful shock” at the election of Mr Trump, whom she described as an “inexperienced, unprepared man who incites sexism and racism”, according to a letter posted on the group’s website on Wednesday.

Just two weeks earlier, Ms Ossorio and hundreds of women had protested outside Trump Tower, the mogul’s landmark building in midtown Manhattan, holding up signs such as “Nasty Women Vote” and urging female voters to “grab Trump by the ballot” and choose Mrs Clinton.

Still, the group urged its members to “not let disillusionment set in” as it invited them to a post-election meeting on Monday to “forge a plan to move forward”.

Michelle Goldberg, a columnist for the online publication Slate, wrote in an articled title "Donald Trump's victory proves that America hates women" that Republican voters handed the presidency to "the most shamelessly misogynist candidate in modern history".

Jill Filipovic, a journalist and lawyer, wrote in The Washington Post that a Trump presidency may especially make immigrant women, women of colour and women seeking abortions vulnerable. "Make no mistake: a vote for Trump is a vote against women," she added.

Pollsters had expected American women to turn out in droves and carry Mrs Clinton to victory.

After all, a video recording obtained by US media last month caught him bragging in lewd terms about kissing, groping and making sexual advances on women during a conversation in 2005, saying, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” Following the reports, Mr Trump released a short video statement saying, “I said it, I was wrong and I apologise.”

Many women did choose Mrs Clinton, but not enough.

According to Edison Research, a provider of exit poll data, 54 per cent of women overall voted for Mrs Clinton, significantly higher than the 42 per cent of women who opted for Mr Trump. But black women appeared to primarily drive the vote for Mrs Clinton with a majority of white women – 53 per cent – voting for Mr Trump, according to a CNN exit poll.

Mrs Clinton, in her concession speech, urged her supporters to keep fighting to have a female president.

“I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will – and hopefully sooner than we might think right now,” she said.

To cheers and applause, she addressed “all the little girls who are watching this”, adding that they should “never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams”.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae