Growing up, I witnessed a culture in which men could do whatever they wanted and nobody would fault them for it. Even my family treated me differently from my sister. But then I began to ask myself, Is this really fair? As I got older, I only saw more clearly how men could have sex without consequence, how boys were congratulated for losing their virginity, while women were told to save themselves for marriage.

Over the next decade, we watched in awe from Iran as Sandra Day O’Connor became America’s first female Supreme Court justice and Sally Ride took off into space. But while mainstream pop culture moments might have projected a seemingly more empowered mind-set, American women were still fighting for sexual equality.

At work, it wasn’t much better. Women were coming to me unsatisfied, embarrassed, and with a general lack of knowledge about their bodies. To this day, I meet many women who are afraid to talk about their needs. I can’t help but ask myself, Why? Why is it that boys are taught about sex and pleasure openly? Why is there an orgasm gap? Why are men blessed with so much freedom, while women are left feeling ashamed, imprisoned, and limited by social, cultural, and religious standards?

My father stressed the idea that surgery is an art. He’d always say:

There are good doctors and there are great doctors. What separates them is that a good doctor knows the book and works according to its rules. A great doctor is innovative. As in art, they try new things, push the limits, and change the way people view the world.

If there’s one thing I have learned from speaking to my patients, it’s that women need to speak up about how they feel, and we need to educate girls from an early age. I want A Woman’s Right To Pleasure to change the way people view female sexuality, desire, and agency to emphasize that every woman has the right to know her body, to love it, and never feel ashamed no matter what.