Tweet

Mona Eltahawy

28 Sep, 10 tweets, 5 min read

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

Today is #SafeAbortionDay. This is the first year that I have been able to say: I have had two abortions. I am glad I had my abortions. They gave me the freedom to live the life I have chosen. #Sept28 #AbortionIsNormal #AbortionIsHealthcare

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

I was not raped. I was not sick. The pregnancies did not threaten my life. I did not already have children. I just did not want to be pregnant.
#SafeAbortionDay #AbortionIsNormal
feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-…

Criminalizing abortion does not eradicate it nor does it make it rare. It makes it dangerous and often deadly for the poorest and most vulnerable people who can get pregnant.
#SafeAbortionDay #AbortionIsNormal

This essay is long overdue. I have long owed it to those who look like me and who rarely see themselves in abortion narratives.

Last year, I was asked to blurb Dr. Meera Shah’s powerful You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion, youretheonlyoneivetold.com

Dr. Shah, a family medicine physician currently serving as the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic in New York, is of South Asian descent and three of the people whose abortion stories she shares also come from South Asian families, one of whom is Muslim.

I enthusiastically blurbed Dr. Shah’s book because the narratives are vital and because she is one of the few women of colour doctors I know of who write openly about providing abortion care.

But I felt like a coward because I had yet to share my own stories, esp when I read that the 3 women of S Asian descent told Dr. Shah that not seeing more women from their ethnic background in abortion narratives made their abortions lonelier and harder.

This is for my younger self who had no one to talk to about her abortions.

And for anyone who recognizes that their abortion is considered shameful or outrageous because it doesn't follow the few acceptable abortion narratives.
$SafeAbortionday
feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-…

You can hear the audio version of my essay here

soundcloud.com/mona-eltahawy-…

Subscribe to my newsletter.

It's free - no paywall or ads.

If you can pay, it helps keep it free

feministgiant.com

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @monaeltahawy

Mona Eltahawy

@monaeltahawy

29 Sep

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

Every time I write something I think is brave, I think "That's the bravest I'll ever be." And every time I start a new essay, I ask myself "Am I not brave?" Yes, I am. But courage wilts & withers when it is not challenged, like muscles that need heavier weights. So I dare myself

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1435234861959237639?s=20

The above is about abortion. This is about shaving all my hair off. Always, always, whatever scares me the most, in just the thinking about doing it, is what I need to do the most.

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1435234861959237639?s=20

Since publishing my essay about my abortions, I'm reminded of this:

I think twice, thrice, and often more before I share moments of vulnerability on social media. feministgiant.com/p/essay-fallin…

Read 7 tweets

Mona Eltahawy

@monaeltahawy

28 Sep

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

After my first abortion 25yrs ago, I couldn't talk to anyone about it. Instead, I would endlessly search for stories on abortion, to nurture my need for support and community. If that is you today on #InternationalSafeAbortionDay, I hope my essay helps you. Love and solidarity.

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

Here I am finally sharing for my younger self who had no one to talk to about her abortions; for anyone who recognizes that their abortion is considered especially shameful or outrageous because it does not follow the few acceptable abortion narratives. feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-…

The personal is political, of course. Where I come from, the personal is more dangerous than the political.

I am from a country w/ the greatest number of women & girls in the world whose genitals have been cut in the name of controlling female sexuality refworld.org/pdfid/5a17eee4…

Read 10 tweets

Mona Eltahawy

@monaeltahawy

28 Sep

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1439650160808796160

The more marginalized you are, the sharper the blows of patriarchy and its attendant oppressions. In the US, gendered racism means that the victims who accused the singer R. Kelly of sexual assault were mostly ignored because they were Black women and girls.

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1439650160808796160

Unlike the famous and privileged white women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, who were interviewed and invited to write opinion pieces, the victims of R. Kelly, many of whom were teenage girls, were rarely sought out by the media. feministgiant.com/p/how-much-is-…

According to a study published in 2017 by Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality, as early as age five, young Black girls in the United States of America are viewed less as children and more like adults when it comes to discipline in schools.

Read 9 tweets

Mona Eltahawy

@monaeltahawy

28 Sep

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

Sept. 28 is #InternationalSafeAbortionDay. Abortion should be safe every day. In 1996, I had an "illegal" abortion in Egypt. I was lucky.

https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1442084453648683010

I was lucky because when I found out I was pregnant, my boyfriend’s cousin recommended an OB/GYN doctor in Cairo who performed abortions in his clinic. I was lucky because I could afford the procedure. feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-… #InternationalSafeAbortionDay

In 2000, I had a "legal" abortion in Seattle in the US. Again, I was lucky. I did not have to drive for miles to access abortion care. I did not have to take time off that I could not afford from work or find overnight accommodations because there was no clinic in my town.

Read 15 tweets