I mean, how many men would have gone on to the floor of the House as Carolyn Maloney did and wear a burkha to show the fight of Afghan women.
Eleanor SmealWe have so few women in Congress. We are so underrepresented and whether we like it or not, we are in area - in an era that still the women, the handful that are there, have two jobs: they represent the constituency that they're from, and they also represent the women of the nation or the state or sometimes as Maloney has done, of the world.
Eleanor SmealAs long as we can be just the sidelight, the side issue, issues that deal with human beings, both men and women and children that should be given more prominence are not.
Eleanor SmealWe need some rules changes. This is an outrage that this, the oldest democracy has now, you know, ranked - when I say ranked 59th, it means that in the percentage of women, in our national parliament, our National Congress, is now ranks 59th from the top. That means 58 countries have more women than we do in percentage wise.
Eleanor SmealWe've spent too much on how to destroy and blow up things with the military and too little on our health care, and too little on education, and it goes on.
Eleanor SmealCarolyn Maloney is very, very comfortable with a whole host of issues, but on women's issues, she is really just one of the few people who understands that women are not only half of the world and half of the United States, but they need an advocate; that they have to have advocacy; that our issues cannot be ignored.
Eleanor Smeal