Women should not be forced to accept sexual harassment as the

J. B. Pritzker, in words heavy with justice and aflame with moral clarity, declared: “Women should not be forced to accept sexual harassment as the price of admission to a life and career in the political world. They should not have to endure unwanted touching, innuendo, and propositioning from men in positions of power.” In these words, he names the injustice that has for too long shadowed the halls of power: that women, who come to serve, to lead, to labor for the good of their people, have been made to pay a cruel and degrading toll at the hands of the corrupt. He calls this evil by its true name and demands its end.

The ancients knew well the dangers of unchecked power. They told of kings who abused their subjects, of rulers who treated women not as equals but as possessions. In the tragedies of Euripides, women often bore the brunt of men’s pride and lust. In the stories of Rome, emperors wielded authority without restraint, turning the sacred trust of leadership into personal indulgence. Pritzker’s words echo the lessons of history: when power is unrestrained by morality, it corrodes both the ruler and the ruled, and women are often the first to suffer.

History offers us the stark example of the countless women who broke their silence in the #MeToo movement, exposing men in high office, in the arts, and in business, who believed that harassment was their privilege and women’s endurance was their price of entry. Their stories revealed that what Pritzker condemns is not rare, but systemic. Yet in their courage we saw the power of truth: a chorus of voices strong enough to shake the very pillars of power. Their stand is proof that the age of silence need not endure.

Pritzker’s words are also profoundly humanizing. He insists that a woman’s worth does not lie in her compliance with degradation, but in her dignity, her talent, and her right to serve without fear. He declares that politics, the realm where laws are written and futures shaped, must not remain a field where women’s bodies are treated as bargaining chips. Instead, it must become a realm where both men and women labor as equals for the common good.

The meaning of his words is heroic: to demand an end to harassment is not merely to protect women, but to protect the soul of democracy itself. For how can a nation claim justice if its women must endure humiliation to serve it? How can leadership be noble if it is built upon exploitation? To banish harassment is not only to protect individuals; it is to cleanse the very foundations of political life, making them worthy of trust.

The lesson for us is clear: do not tolerate the poison of harassment in any form. Silence is complicity. When we look away, we strengthen the oppressor; when we speak out, we strengthen the victim. Each citizen, whether man or woman, must guard the dignity of the political sphere, ensuring that it becomes a place of service, not abuse. In this lies not only justice for women, but honor for the whole community.

Practical actions follow. Stand with those who speak out against harassment. Build systems of accountability where the powerful cannot hide behind their titles. Teach sons and daughters alike that respect is the first duty of power. And if you witness injustice, act—not tomorrow, but today. For the evil of harassment is not defeated by words alone, but by the steady courage of many.

O seeker, remember Pritzker’s wisdom: women should not have to endure degradation as the price of admission. Their dignity is not negotiable, their worth not conditional. Let this truth be spoken in every hall of power, in every workplace, in every home: that to touch without consent is dishonor, that to demean is to destroy, and that only in respect can men and women build a world where all may serve and flourish together.