On Wednesday 18th of March I was lucky enough to be given the chance to
enter the Houses of Parliament and be present for Prime ministers question time
and the Chancellor's budget announcement for 2015. It was an experience like no
other and something I felt completely immersed with as I saw women proudly
taking their places on the front benches, defending their beliefs and fighting
to be heard amongst the crowds. So you can understand my utter disappointment
on the train journey home where the evening standard did not at all echo what I
had observed in the day but chose to focus on Theresa May's choice of shoe and
suit for the occasion. 
The worst part is that
this wasn't a one off where a reporter simply didn't care to report anything of
more importance. It seems that sadly this is the case with all of the press
reports of the day, minimalizing the political women to nothing but mannequins
to be criticised and dissected for their enjoyment. Theresa May is the home
secretary for our nation yet not one of the articles I have come across so far
have any mention of her role in our society or the impact she has had in the
political world, instead it merely comments upon her ever evolving choice in
shoe wear and bright suit. There is even a dispute on whether it was orange or
pink as it has been recorded to be both, what a politically stimulating
debate eh? The most ironic thing I think is that Theresa May was
appointed the Minister for Women and Equality by David Cameron, yet she's
sexualised and judged based on her dress sense in every article about the
Budget announcement. It's as if her importance is completely disregarded, who
has the authority to do that to anybody? Certainly not the press. 
I had never understood
up until this experience why women felt they had to be submissive in politics
and almost take a back seat and let the male mouthpieces deliver the policies
that these women have endorsed and created. These women understand that
they have to be liked because at the end of the day politics is a population
game, and they find themselves being the vital players. The perfect example of
this theory is Margaret Thatcher. I could never understand why even at the
beginning of her life in politics she found herself being disliked, simply
because she refused to be tamed and sit quietly while her country crumbled. I
even believe that some of the decisions she made which caused her to be
branded a 'Monster' and to 'have no heart' would not have been taken so
harshly and been such a threat had she not had boobs. It's quite
distressing to see that women in the house find themselves faced with a
decision to either dress plain and speak out and be branded 'butch' and
'threatening' or to open themselves up and accept being sexualised in silence
whilst others talk of their work.
But women please first we have to help ourselves! We could do without Edwina
Currie, a political woman, tweeting such things as "Great cleavage though, eh? Feisty lady,
bold statement, love it" in regards to Theresa May. Just the part about
her being a "Feisty lady" would have been very sufficient, thank you
very much. How can we expect things to ever change if we continue to sit
back whilst the camera's focus on the cleavage of our countries most important
and impacting women? This has to stop. I cannot read another debate about the
colour of a woman's suit when she is responsible for gender equality in our
great nation.
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