Ivanka Trump vs. Aung San Suu Kyi: The women staying silent
Although the crises in the United States and Myanmar differ in severity, the silence of the women in high levels of office is unnerving.
Recently, a explosive tell-all book about life inside the Trump administration, by Michael Wolff, has exposed the power struggle of life inside the calamitous White House. Wolff alleges in his book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, that Ivanka Trump, the First Daughter and informal Assistant to the President, has ambition to one day be the first female President. However, what Ivanka has done so far will not be forgotten by voters. She has refused to condemn the actions of her father and has remained silent under his misogynistic and hateful rhetoric.
Throughout the 2016 election cycle, Ivanka campaigned for her father across the country. She promised to put female empowerment at the forefront of the presidency. She aligned herself with mothers by announcing her support for better childcare, and criticised the wave of sexual harassment against women that was recently revealed. Many across the country felt that Ivanka would be the moderator in her fathers presidency, by reigning in his attacks and rage against women and minority groups. The current president has frequently lambasted women, saying they should be “punished” if they underwent an abortion, and even boasted about groping women’s genitals in a leaked audio tape.
Ivanka has been condemned over her inaction and inability to criticise the president. With the formidable #MeToo movement becoming a safe haven for women suffering from sexual abuse, Ivanka has done little to celebrate this cause. Also, her support for accessible and affordable childcare contradicts the administration’s proposal to roll back coverage of birth control under their planned healthcare bill. Recently, she opened up about her experiences with postpartum depression, but a new Republican healthcare legislation would mean everyday American women would not be covered for their traumatic experiences with postpartum. Ivanka doesn’t have to worry. Being rich means world-class healthcare would be easily accessible for women of her stature. The sheer unfairness comes with her female supporters and the women she supposedly represents that are left behind.
If Ivanka even considers a run for the coveted seat in the Oval Office, she must speak up and stand with her own gender. What she must not do, is follow the route of de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, who also has received her fair share of controversy over the silent treatment.
The Rohingya crisis that is taking place in Myanmar is a humanitarian catastrophe. An estimated 650,000 Muslims from the Rakhine region have been forced to flee to makeshift refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. Women and children have endured sexual violence and torture from Myanmar militants, and the UN recently described the persecution as a form of ‘ethnic cleansing’. The Nobel Prize-winner, Suu Kyi, has done little to overthrow the crisis that is taking place in her own country.
A few weeks ago, famous Times cartoonist, Peter Brookes, depicted Suu Kyi with blood on her hands, a perfect representation of the leader’s inaction. Not only has she remained relatively silent, likewise to her American counterpart, she has avoided any discussion of the disaster at UN conventions. Her similarities to the Trump administration do not stop there, she recently condemned the violence from“both sides” of the Rohingya minority and Myanmar militant groups. The infamos Charlottesville protests in the U.S. in the summer of 2017 saw the president refuse to vilify the actions of far-right activists and neo-Nazis. One of the only things the Myanmar leader has commented on is the limit on children who are able to enter Bangladesh to escape the terrors. The consensus within the UN on the Rohingya crisis meant that Suu Kyi recently lost her Oxford Freedom of the City award.
The silence of two powerful females in politics means that they are indirectly endorsing the behaviours that are plighting their nations, particularly in regards to violence and discrimination against women. Whether Aung San Suu Kyi wants to win the next general election, or Ivanka Trump hopes to one day be president, they will not progress by remaining timid in times of unrest. Humanity and the protection of civilians is key. The powerlessness to do just that is a horrific theme of our current times.
