#32 DE LEON, Inna Elyjah Beatrice C.

Civil Law Review 2

2017-0471 Atty. Crisostomo A. Uribe

ALL RISE

She is the second woman in U.S. history to be appointed as Supreme Court Justice. At the
age of 87, she is the fourth longest serving Justice, as well. She championed for equal rights for
women and men at the time when no one thought it was possible, much less constitutional. Her
legal prowess, tenacity and fiery dissents earned her the moniker ‘Notorious RBG’, and has
become an American pop culture icon among the youth today. No woman fits the description
other than Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
The film started with Ruth Ginsberg, an eager and wide-eyed law student climbing the
steps of Harvard Law School in the 1950’s. Out of 500 students enrolled, only 9 of them were
women. Early on, she experienced discrimination from her professors and fellow classmates, all
seemingly thinking that she has no place in law school, and should opt to stay home and tend to
her husband and daughter instead. The evident gender discrimination she experienced hounded
her even after successfully graduating as top of her class. No law firm in New York at that time
wanted to hire her despite her stellar credentials, all because she is a Jew, a mother, and most of
all, a woman. Although defeated, she pushed forward and did not stop until her voice as a lawyer
– a female lawyer, at that – gets heard and respected. In the process, she played a key role in
eradicating gender discrimination in many areas of the law in the United States.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their
feet off our necks”
This line was quoted by Justice Ginsberg at the end of the film, and truly is the underlying
message of her exceptional life story. At the time when women are depicted merely as housewives
and homemakers, when women received far less respect, privilege and rights than men, Ruth
traversed and conquered the male-dominated field of no loss than the legal profession. She never
quailed at the presence of men, nor did she let them intimidate her. For a woman to be as
formidable as she was in the 1960’s is in itself admirable, because during those days, women are
treated as second-class citizens dependent on men for sustenance.
In the film, I found it rather symbolical that in the opening scene, we first saw Ruth almost
drowning amongst the crowd of hundreds of men entering Harvard Law. For me, it symbolically
depicted the predicament of every woman in those years when gender equality was far from being
attainable. However, in the last scene of the film, we see Ruth climbing the steps of the United
States Supreme Court on her own. This for me symbolized the fact that women are indeed capable
of being just as accomplished, respected, and independent, as men. It relayed the message that
one cannot and should not be conformed to the gender norms that the society constructed for us.
Looking back, times have indeed changed. Women and men now both have equal opportunities
in terms of profession, among other things. This does not, however, mean that we have completely
eliminated discrimination solely on the basis of sex.
Sadly, the fight for equality, most especially those based on gender, is relevant today, more
than ever. In our country particularly, we still fall victims to gender discrimination. The
perception of an oppressive patriarchal society has become even more prevalent in recent times,
which sadly was expected, given that our current leader is himself discriminating to women. Our
brothers and sisters in the LGBT community are still in the hopes of being protected and respected
in this society that sees them merely as subjects of ridicule and jokes. This begs the question, when
will it end? When will everyone be regarded as equals?
“The court ought not to be affected by the weather of the day, but will be by
the climate of the era.”
This line from the film posts both as a challenge and as a reminder to everyone serving in
the judiciary that the rule of law, although rigid at times, is capable of setting new precedents that
would better apply to the society we live in at present time. Just as the application of law is
generally prospective, so must be our views. As hopeful students of law, it is now our duty to both
uphold the institution, but at the same time make it equally accessible to all. That is when we will
all rise.