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The recent U.S. presidential election has left many feeling that the fight for equality has been dealt a heavy blow. But in times like these, it’s important to remember that progress is never linear, and movements are not defined by setbacks but by how we respond to them.
In this special post-election episode of Smart, Amazing Conversations with Dr. Nancy, we’ve invited two thought leaders on the frontlines of the gender equity movement. They are Dr. Sophia Armen, a Middle Eastern American feminist, writer, organizer, and co-founder of The Feminist Front, and Rosie Couture, co-founder and co-Executive Director of the Young Feminist Party, a young people’s movement to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment and advance gender justice—to help us process this moment, find clarity in the chaos, and chart a path forward.
Show Notes:
Today, we’re joined by two inspiring leaders in the fight for gender justice and the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Dr. Sophia Armen and Rosie Couture lead influential organizations working to achieve gender and racial equality. In this episode, they share their journeys, the vital role of the ERA, and the importance of engaging younger generations in a century-long movement that seeks to ensure equal rights under U.S. law. From activism inspired by historical events to modern-day organizing, they both emphasize collaborative actions, legal protections, and the urgency of uniting under a common cause. Listen to their insights about how the ERA will protect the rights and freedoms of people today and future generations and what we need to do to make constitutional equality a reality.
About Dr. Sophia Armen
Dr. Sophia Armen is a Middle Eastern American feminist community organizer and writer. She is the co-founder and serves as the Co-Director of The Feminist Front, a national gender, queer, and racial justice organization for 15-35-year-olds that is fighting for women’s equality and working on key issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment, worker’s rights and equal pay, reproductive healthcare, gender-affirming care access, and survivor-centered initiatives through deep grassroots organizing. Armen was the first Middle Eastern American woman elected student body president in the history of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her work has appeared in Vice News, Ms. Magazine, The Middle East Eye, NPR, The Feminist Realities Magazine, and in a cover story for The Los Angeles Times, among others.
About Rosie Couture
Rosie Couture is a junior at Harvard College, studying Social Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She chairs the Institute of Politics’ Gender & Sexuality Coalition, organizes with the Harvard Feminist Coalition, and researches social movement-building with the Radcliffe Institute and the Nonviolent Action Lab at Harvard. Couture is also co-founder and co-Executive Director of the Young Feminist Party, a young people’s movement to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment and advance gender justice. Through direct actions, legislative advocacy, electoral organizing, and judicial advocacy, the Young Feminist Party recruits, trains, and mobilizes young people to advance feminist policies and build feminist futures.
Episode Timestamps:
[00:02:06] – Dr. Nancy welcomes Dr. Sophia and Rosie and praises them for being young leaders advancing gender justice and equality.
[00:03:19] – Dr. Sophia introduces the mission of the Young Feminist Front and shares her story of being from a family of genocide survivors and refugees and how her organization is picking up the baton for young people to fight for ERA progress.
[00:06:05] – Dr. Nancy clarifies that they are talking about the Equal Rights Amendment being published in the Constitution, which has nothing about women or all of us. This is the Amendment to protect all of us.
[00:06:05] – Rosie tells the story of her childhood, being raised by parents doing good for their community and attending the Women’s March with her mom and sister on her 13th birthday (Inauguration Day).
[00:09:20] – Rosie shares her discovery of the 100-year history of the ERA and the founding of the Young Feminist Party, a youth group founded at the time of Virginia’s ratification of the ERA.
[00:11:00] – Dr. Nancy stressed the urgency of getting the current president to sign the order for the ERA to be published before he leaves office and the need to continue fighting for it.
[00:12:55] – Rosie explains the status and simplicity of the ERA as an already ratified amendment to stating equal rights without discrimination on the basis of sex and the success rates of state constitutional ERAs in protecting rights in the courts.
[00:15:33] – Dr. Sophia emphasizes that it’s okay to feel upset and why we need the ERA to protect women.
[00:17:02] – Dr. Sophia lists rights and access promised to be restricted under Project 2025 and how we live our lives as women is controlled by what the US government allows or doesn’t allow.
[00:18:35] – Dr. Sophia points out that in the new House, no women or minorities have been appointed to lead committees for the first time in 20 years.
[00:20:00] – Dr. Sophia outlines how ERA would provide a divest-invest strategy to fix harms from discrimination based on sex, like corporations making billions of dollars from paying women less than men.
[00:22:01] – Dr. Nancy reviews her experience with women being paid less, how we’re returning to the attitude of scarcity rather than abundance, and how youth activism for the ERA can change the complacency of people despite the criticism faced.
[00:24:44] – Rosie stresses that the ERA is permanent, unlike policies and laws that can be overturned, and is a tool to protect future generations as a wall of defense and a springboard for future action.
[00:26:30] – Rosie says it’s not young people’s fault they don’t know about the ERA, and she sees that as she and Dr. Sophia’s role is to inform and get them involved and ignite their activism by showing them what they can do.
[00:28:24] – Dr. Nancy clarifies that we got into “us and them” during the last election. It’s US, and we need to remember that.
[00:30:15] – Dr. Sophia points out their organizations follow the legacy, traditions, and ideals of the Civil Rights Movement and Suffragists and are committed to fight because change only comes if we fight for it.
[00:32:51] – Dr. Sophia says the young people’s fight is not new but has just hit the mainstream media. #ERANow has been active for the last two months, with thousands across the country protesting in the streets, working with the ERA Congressional Caucus, and building momentum to get ERA published before Biden leaves office.
[00:35:55] – Dr. Sophia lists the cross-section of groups in the fight, including those involved with the Women’s March, Black Lives Matter, climate change, immigration, and others all opposed to one group of people who are trying to limit rights and prohibit freedom.
[00:3740] – Rosie says that because this will probably be the only amendment in our lifetimes, we need everybody to join and talk to your family and peers, letting them know that that ERA is not dead.
[00: 3916] – Dr. Nancy urges everyone to get engaged for ERA Now.
[00:43:26] – Dr. Sophia, Dr. Nancy, and Rosie stress how life-changing ERA will be and urge everyone to join the fight. We are born free and this amendment will protect that freedom. Go to PublishERANow.org