The life of a woman: Part 1

On the 13th of March, I sat at my bedroom window at 9:30 p.m., lit a candle, and waited for the street below me to pop up with flames. It didn’t. But a few minutes later, two bright lights across the road shone brightly in the arms of two shadowy figures.

This is the life of a woman.

That week was sorrowfully marked by the confirmation of Sarah Everard’s death, following her disappearance. In just a week, the country went through waves of shock, fear, and finally, mourning. The country, yes, but mainly women, who ever since the first time they found themselves alone, have been fighting to stay alive, to stay safe, to stay in a position of consent.

But people vanish all the time, why is this death so different from all the others?

It’s different because we have had enough. We, as women, are beyond grief. Just as in the summer of 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement took flight after the death of George Floyd, after ‘just another death caused by police brutality and systemic racism,’ Sarah’s ‘just another disappearance’ is the last straw.

Sadly, she will not be the last. Sadly, it is not in our power, as women, to change the situation alone. But that does not mean that we cannot show our grief, our anger, and our hope for a better future.

The Life of a Woman series will shine a light on the lives of young women in Manchester and their various experiences, the good and bad, the hard and wonderful, all of which represent the daily life of a woman.

We encourage our readers to share their stories and to create a safe community where women can express themselves, voice their fears, and move towards a safer, more equal, and kinder environment.