Eleanor Smeal Photo: Jan Welch

November 4, 1999
Noon EST

With Special Guest Eleanor Smeal
President, the Feminist Majority Foundation

Eleanor Smeal, co-founder and president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, has spent the past 26 years working for women's equality. As the longest running president of the National Organization for Women, serving from 1977-82 and 1985-7, she led the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment. At the FMF, Smeal created the 1996 Feminist Expo, bringing together hundreds of women's organizations to discuss the movement's agenda.

Below is today's transcript.

washingtonpost.com: Welcome, Eleanor, and thank you for appearing on the debut show of HerTime. To get the ball rolling, why don't we start out with a general question. What do you see as the most pressing issues facing the women's movement in the upcoming year?

Eleanor Smeal: Thank you. It's great to be online. Of course the year 2000 will be a deciding year in many ways. First, there's the election. Women's issues will play a key part in these elections and the gender gap will again be very important. Will we at last win a Congressional majority that will pass the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and will we get a majority that will move forward instead of chipping away at the gains that women have won in the last three years? For example, will we finally reform Social Security so that women's benefits are increased and discrimination is eliminated, will we pass the Violence Against Women Act that is pending and finally pass the pay equity bill. Will we lift the cap on damages that can be awarded in sex discrimination lawsuits and pass the equal remedies act. There are so many goals. The question is will we slow down the progress of women or move forward in the 21st Century.

Arlington, VA: I have heard about your work for women in Afghanistan. What can I do to help the women in Afghanistan?

Eleanor Smeal: An exciting aspect of the modern-day women's movement is that it's global. Women's organizations are literally worldwide, but so are the problems. Nowhere is the need to help women greater than in Afghanistan. The Taliban militia has issued decrees forbidding women to work, go to school, or travel freely, and have restricted their health care. According to the United Nations these conditions of gender apartheid in Afghanistan are so extreme that they paint it as virtually hopeless. Women are literally committing suicide because they cannot stand these horrific conditions. The Feminist Majority is leading a nationwide campaign that has linked women's organizations worldwide the bring pressure on the UN and the United States to 1. not recognize the Taliban and 2. provide more humanitarian aid 3. to admit more refugees into countries 4. to put pressure on Pakistan and Saudi Arabia so that the Taliban restores women's rights. You can join our campaign by logging on to www.feminist.org, sign the petitions, and get a Take Action packet so that you can reach others. We are told by the State Department that they are receiving more mail on this subject than any other. If you are in the administration of a University and can give a scholarship for Afghan women and girls, notify us through feminist.org

Washington, DC: I am interested in hearing more about the 1996 feminist expo and when the next femist expo will take place. How can I obtain any information on it?

Eleanor Smeal: Feminist Expo 2000 will take place March 31 - April 2 in Baltimore, MD at the Baltimore Convention Center. Feminist Expo 2000 is co-sponsored by some 280 national organizations and women's organizations from other countries. Most of the major women's organizations in the United States are participating. There will be a large exhibit hall with a feminist career center for jobs in non-profit organizations. There will be over 200 feminist speakers and entertainers. There will be four general assemblies, some 60 - 70 symposia, roundtables, and seminars. There will be an Equal Rights Amendment reunion Friday, March 31st and headliner entertainment Saturday. We will celebrate the gains of the 20 century and envision the gains that can be made for women's rigths and human rights. We are expecting thousands of feminists from all across the United States and many from countries abroad.

Dupont Circle, D.C.: The task force you and Heidi Hartmann headed on social security reform proposed alot of changes including a family service credit and a drop-out credit. Do you have a sense of how these proposals will be precieved on the Hill?

Eleanor Smeal: We are very hopeful that the family service credit will be adopted. This new idea will stop penalizing people who take time off from their work to care for children or the elderly or the sick. Right now, Social Security is calculated for a forty-year life cycle, and women make about two-thirds of what men make in benefits under Social Security. We want to make sure that any reform of the Social Security system does not impact elderly women negatively. We cannot reform Social Security on the backs of elderly women. One of our suggested reforms is the family service credit. A worker can subtract from their benefits the five lowest paid years, but women who frequently must take off time for family service in addition to those low five years are penalized by having to count that time as real earning. We believe that we should in fact allow them to drop out a maximum of four additional years for these vital services for the human family. Obviously, this would not apply just to women. It would be written in such a way that any person, who can substantiate that they were caring for dependent children or elderly or the sick, could substract a minimum of four years from their calculation of their benefits.

Washington, DC: Do we still need the equal rights amendment?

Eleanor Smeal: Of course we still need an Equal Rights Amendment. Women still do not full rights under our constitution. In the 1980s we lost Title IX, which guarantees no sex discrimination in federally-funded education. We finally restored Title IX in a federal court decision in 1988. What it showed is how fragile our rights are, and this is only a guarantee of equality in federally-funded programs. Some of our primary and secondary schools are not covered by Title IX. We have a cap on damages in sex discrimination but not race discrimination, in employment. Women are legally discriminated against in the military. Social Security still has many inequities based on gender. Insurance regulation, which is now done state by state, permits discrimination in pricing based on sex which cheats women out of millions of dollars in auto, health and life insurance. The list goes on. We deserve and need the guarantee of full equality under the law for the women and girls of our land.

Dupont Circle, D.C.: Your changes sound great for social security sound great but do you there's a chance they'll be approved by Congress?

Eleanor Smeal: Yes. The gender gap in voting is giving women more and more clout in Congress. Slowly, the number of women elected to Congress is also going up. In addition, in the last two presidential elections, both were extremely important. In fact, the gender gap in voting was decisive in the 1996 presidential election. Our coalition working on Social Security reform includes over 100 women's groups representing millions of women members. We believe an idea like the family service credit is not only just but will be immensely popular for women and their families. By the way, in my first question on Social Security there's a typographical error. We are suggesting a maximum, not a minimum, of four years allowed to drop out for the care of children and the elderly.

Dupont Circle, D.C.: What's the status of RU-486? Last I knew, it was to be on the market the end of this year. Is there FDA final approval? Will the drug be advertised?

Eleanor Smeal: Mifepristone, which was formerly called RU 486, we believe will finally be approved by the FDA sometime in either late 1999 or early 2000. Hopefully it will be a major news story and there will be a wide-spread public education campaign so that women will be aware of its availability. However, it is a drug that can only be obtained directly from a doctor who has qualified as a provider of early abortion services. In addition, we hope it will be available more widley for compassionate use for meningioma (a type of brain tumor that is progesterone dependent), some forms of ovarian and breast cancer as well as other tumors for which the treatment shows some promise. We also hope that clinical research trials on these cancer uses, on endometriosis, fibroid tumors, and other diseases and conditions will proceed rapidly. This breakthrough drug has been delayed by anti-abortion politics. These delays have slowed advances in women's health. For more information on the benefits of mifepristone and its availability, check out our Web site (www.feminist.org).

washingtonpost.com: Eleanor, the Senate recently approved a ban on late term abortions. Are we in dire need for action? How are pro-choice advocates organizing to fight this legislation?

Eleanor Smeal: We are determined to defeat this attempt to restrict abortion services for women. We just had a big victory. The voters in Maine voted down an anti-abortion referrendum on this measure this week by a 56% to 44% margin. That's a landslide. Two years ago, we defeated a similar measure in Washington state. When the voters can decide, we are winning state after state in defeating anit-abortion measures. The problem is, the Congress, which has an anti-abortion majority in both houses, is not representative of the American people, especially American women, on this issue. Likewise, in many states, although state legislatures are anit-abortion the people in the states are pro-choice. Under-representation of women in state legislatures and Congress and the role of big money in politics are contributing to this imbalance and the outrageous politicization of this issue. That's why the National Right to Life Committee has been pushing for a vote against campaign finance reform and counting it as an abortion vote. They know the influence of money, not the votes of people, are keeping their anti-abortion politics alive.

Arlington VA: How can we draw young people into the women's movement?

Eleanor Smeal: We are drawing young women into the movement. Right now polls show that our greatest support is among women 18 - 24 years of age. In fact, over two-thirds of them support the women's movement. The best way we can convert this support to activism is by providing activities that young people can participate in. Our organization has internship programs, we are organizing on college campuses all over the country and we are organizing online through our all new feministcampus.org interactive Web site. Our Feminist Expo 2000 is reaching out to young people. We expect delegations from colleges all over the country. We will have at the event, many activities for young people including a feminist career center. So bring your resumes! I hope to see you at Feminist Expo 2000. Registration forms are available at www.feminist.org.

washingtonpost.com: Let's talk about fighting the feminist backlash. 10 years ago, 50% of American women proclaimed themselves feminists. Is this still the case?

Eleanor Smeal: Feminists indeed are still the majority. In the first place, it is over 50% of women in the polls who self-identify as feminists. Polling consistently shows strong support for the women's rights movement among all categories of women. That's why we call ourselves the Feminist Majority. As far as the backlash goes, it is being driven by the same forces that have fought an increase in women's rights. Repeatedly, our opponents declare that the feminist movement is dead and there was a period in which they talked about the post-feminist era. Although they keep hoping that we are going to go away, our numbers keep increasing and the number of organizations working on women's rights programs continues to increase. The depth and breadth and diversity of today's feminist movement will be showcased at our Feminist Expo in March 2000. The Expo will feature women's organizations from all sectors of the movement -- academia, business, media, sports, labor, medicine, politics, science, and social services. There is no question that as we enter the new millenium that the feminist movement is at its strongest position in history.

washingtonpost.com: Have you worked with other womens' organizations in your plight in Afganistan? Is this an issue they're interested in or is just a FMF issue?

Eleanor Smeal: Our campaign to stop Gender Aprtheid in Afghanistan is working with some 160 domestic women's organizations, including Afghan-American women's groups, and many other women's groups worldwide. We are also working with human rights groups. The Feminist Majority is spearheading the campaign in the US, but many, many groups are participating. Make sure that your women's groups on campus or in the community joins this crucial campaign. Again, you can get information on it on feminist.org or call 1-888-WE-WOMEN for a Take Action packet.

Dupont Circle, D.C.: Afganistan- now that Kosovo is done, is this issue finally getting the attention it deserves?

Eleanor Smeal: While we are on the topic of Afghanistan, we are doing everything we can to increase the visibility of the plight of Afghan women, to make sure that the US and UN do not recognize the Taliban, and to increase the humanitarian resources devoted to Afghan women and girls. There has been far too little attention given to women in Afghanistan. Yet the situation is as devastating as Kosovo or East Timor. The brutal violations of women's rights and the rights of ethnic minorities in Afghanistan should be given front page headlines and there should be a worldwide outcry. The number of refugees fleeing the Taliban and the abhorrent conditions they suffer are appalling.

washingtonpost.com: Do you think the next generation will take for granted the opportunties and advantages they've grown up with such as reproductive freedom and their wide variety of career choices?

Eleanor Smeal: One of our dreams has been that all women and girls assume that they have equal opportunities and reproductive freedom. Young women today believe that these rights are indeed inalienable. But they also know that their rights are under attack every day and we have found that they are willing to stand up for their rights at every opportunity. As I said before, young women are the strongest supporters of feminism. And once they know that their rights are at stake they mobilize the most heavily. Right now I am doing a speaking tour on college campuses dicsussing these issues with feminists on campus. The response has been phenomal, and these young women are dedicated to both preserving and expanding women's rights in the US and globally.

Fairfax, Va: When do you think a woman will be elected president. Would you vote for a republican woman?

Eleanor Smeal: The feminist movement is not alligned with any political party. We have always voted for the candidate who most strongly supports the rights of women -- abortion rights, pay equity, realligning budget priorities, equality for women in Social Security, women's human rights globally, peace, equality in education and sports ... These are the issues that drive the gender gap. As the saying goes, "Women were not born Democrat, Republican, or yesterday."

washingtonpost.com: Thank you, Eleanor, for appearing on the show and introducing HerTime to our viewers. We hope to have you back in the spring to tell us how the Expo went. To our viewers, log on next week. Marine Corps Colonel Nancy P. Anderson will be on to discuss women in the military.