Shenaz Treasury Needs More Screen Time

After the end of The Colbert Report, it seemed like nothing could take the place of Stephen Colbert and his brand of political satire. But on Monday night, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore premiered in Colbert's old time slot and brought his own interesting style of political and social news with an opinionated twist. Wilmore's main segment of the night featured him with four special guests discussing one important topic in the news at the moment. Monday night's topic was racism and the relationship between African Americans and the police. One of Wilmore's panelists of the night was one of his new contributors Shenaz Treasury, but who is she besides a "contributor"?

Treasury began her career as a model and actress in India, and she also produced and hosted her own series for the Travel Channel. But while this is all listed on her contributor biography, the series glossed over one of the most important things she's done and definitely the most relevant information on her resume: She's an outspoken advocate for women's rights and safety.

Before the release of one of her Bollywood films, Treasury wrote an open letter to some of the most influential men in India to help ensure the safety of women in India after news broke out about the Uber taxi driver who allegedly raped a 26-year-old female customer. The open letter described moments of harassment she and those in her life had faced all her life and not only appealed to people for help but also expressed anger and outrage over the state of women's safety in India. It was a powerful message and a voice that needs to be heard more on television.

Sure, The Nightly Show is just a series on Comedy Central, and yes this is only its first night, but these types of shows tackle the most important and controversial topics in the news today. And if you're going to hire a woman with so many outspoken ideals, why not give her the platform to say what she wants to say? She got a few words in edge-wise, but those who don't know who work wouldn't know her from the next TV talking head.

Here's hoping that she'll find a way to make her involvement informative, interesting, and even entertaining as the show progresses. The Nightly Show has a lot of promise and Wilmore showed in his first outing as host that not only does he has wit and humor, he also allows his guests to say what's on their minds. He gives them the chance to speak freely. But right now, he only has one semi-regular female contributor/guest on the show in a late-night comedy game is dominated by men.

From the Jimmy's, both Fallon and Kimmel, to Stephen Colbert taking over The Late Show, Conan and everyone in between. The only female late-night host, Chelsea Lately, also ended her show last year, and Samantha Bee and Jessica Williams on The Daily Show are the only regular female contributors in late-night spectrum now. So if Wilmore is going to have a female contributor, especially one who has made important news in India like Treasury, at least give her a little more time to speak her mind. We need more women on late-night shows in general, but for now I'd be happy with giving the ones who are around some time to shine.