The only way to ensure equality for women is to clearly declare

Hear the voice of Carolyn Maloney, who spoke with urgency and clarity, declaring: “The only way to ensure equality for women is to clearly declare it in our Constitution.” In these words she reminds us that promises made in speeches and ideals proclaimed in spirit are fragile unless they are bound into law. To her, equality must not be left to the mercy of changing times or shifting governments—it must be etched into the very foundation of the nation, so that no one may deny it without denying the Constitution itself.

The meaning of her saying is profound. Equality for women has long been proclaimed in principle, but not guaranteed in practice. Societies have made progress, granting women the vote, access to education, and opportunities in work and leadership. Yet without a clear, unshakable declaration in the highest law of the land, that progress rests on unstable ground. Maloney argues that equality must not merely be cultural, nor conditional, but constitutional—protected by the same enduring power that guards freedom of speech and the right to justice.

The origin of her cry can be traced to the long struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the United States. First introduced in 1923 by suffragist Alice Paul, the ERA sought to guarantee equality under the law regardless of sex. For decades it was debated, passed in one chamber, stalled in another, and fought over by movements both for and against it. Though progress was made, the amendment has yet to be fully ratified into the Constitution. Maloney’s words carry this history: nearly a century of striving, of victories and setbacks, of a dream still unfinished.

History gives us a mirror in the story of Susan B. Anthony and the suffragists. They, too, knew that promises meant nothing unless anchored in law. They were told that democracy already included them, that their voices mattered without the ballot. But they knew better. Only by inscribing women’s right to vote into the Constitution, through the 19th Amendment, could true progress be secured. Maloney echoes their spirit: just as the vote required law, so too does full equality demand it.

Her words also hold a warning. Societies can drift backward. Rights not written into law can be stripped away when power shifts, when culture hardens, when fear rises. Without constitutional protection, gains for women may remain vulnerable—always conditional, always at risk of erosion. By declaring equality in the Constitution, a people not only protect women, but protect the future, ensuring that daughters and granddaughters need not fight the same battles their mothers and grandmothers already waged.

The lesson here is clear: noble ideals must be made concrete. If you would defend justice, do not rely only on speeches, customs, or goodwill. Bind your ideals into law, write them into the very structure of your society, so that they cannot be ignored. Equality must not be an opinion or a promise, but a right beyond question.

So, children of tomorrow, take these words into your heart. Work not only for progress in your own time, but for progress that will endure beyond you. Support the cause of constitutional equality, for when equality is law, no ruler may deny it, no prejudice may erase it, no passing generation may forget it. Speak, act, and labor until your constitution reflects the full dignity of every human being. For only then will freedom be whole, and justice eternal.