Yes! you guessed it Feminism.
Hello readers! I hope you all are doing well
Feminism is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted concept ever. When one listens to feminism most of them have a preconceived negative notion. I say preconceived because they are not aware of what it actually means or maybe they prefer not to know about it or even if they know they don’t want to understand it. And when I say “they” I mean both males and females.
The reason I wanted to write about feminism is that I was talking to my colleague about it and he asked me more so in a complaining tone, why do you have to specifically mention feminism it is a part of human rights, right? there’s no need to specify feminism. That’s when I thought why do we need to specifically talk about it. When I thought I realized that we actually don’t talk about women’s rights or feminism and that reason is enough to specify it and educate people why it’s important. There are various concepts that should be mentioned and discussed specifically such as animal rights, media manipulation, China’s expansionism, the black lives matter movement, climate change, the importance of proper sex education, paternity leave, and many more.
When I was confused about feminism there were few quotes and statements that helped me understand what feminism was. Here are a few quotes by famous personalities and a few Instagram posts about feminism.
“The enemy of feminism isn’t men. It’s patriarchy, and patriarchy is not men. It is a system, and women can support the system of patriarchy just as men can support the fight for gender equality.”
The foe is the mindset of the patriarchal society more so the western colonial mindset which is so deeply arched in the minds of the people that they are reluctant to change it. I say western because, before the cowardly overtaking of the Britishers and the invasions of the Mughals, India was a place where women enjoyed the same status as men in all aspects of life. It is a country where Scholars like Akka Mahadevi who was born in modern-day Karnataka questioned the practice of caste and worship through priests and was celebrated for the same. Queen Nayanika was the ruler and military commander of the Satavahana Empire of the Deccan region. Rani Rudrama Devi, the warrior queen of the Kakatiya empire and one of the few women to rule as monarch. Rani Durgavati, the queen of Gondwana resisted the forces of Mughal emperor Akbar. Meera was a leading Hindu mystic poet of the Bhakti Movement. Tarabai, the regent of the Maratha Empire. Velu Nachiyar was one of the earliest Indian queens to fight against British colonial power. Rani Lakshmibai was one of the principal leaders of the first Indian fight for independence in 1857.
“The more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.”
– Emma Watson
I am emphasizing more “hating men” because this is the preconceived negative notion that needs to change. Feminism is not at all hating men it is just asking for the rights which a human is expected to enjoy but is deprived of because of their gender. Why do the terms and conditions differ based on gender? Yes, I agree that physiologically men and women are built differently but that difference cannot be seen as a sign of weakness. Logically speaking, “Different” means not the same, but it does not mean one is strong and the other is weak. The basic understanding of the “Difference” is Feminism.
The concept called “basic skills a human needs” must be understood by society. Let’s say cooking is a basic life skill that a human adult needs to learn to fill one’s stomach. One has the fundamental right to educate themselves. I am not saying that women are not getting an education but recently I read a quote that says educate a woman because when a woman is educated a family is educated. Educate a woman because it’s her fundamental right don’t add “because” (the terms and conditions). Don’t tell a woman which career is suitable for her (the terms and conditions), the meaning of suitable is her family over her career. Any career is suitable for any human when they are willing to work for it. Do not make your daughter waste half of her life away for a man just so she can simply travel, take a semester abroad, dye her hair, and everything in between. And never raise her to believe that another flawed human being is her ‘ticket’ to a happy, fulfilled life. And there are many more such so-called concepts made by society. What I am trying to say is that don’t add uncalled-for terms and conditions to a person’s life.
“I think men will be feminist when they start understanding the effects of patriarchy even on themselves as men.”
– Kalki Koechlin
Patriarchy is a socially-constructed system where men are given the primary power for possibly everything. It (un)consciously promotes unhealthy standards of masculinity which actually affects men too indirectly. This standard of masculinity pilots constant competition with each other which leads to anxiety. But they can’t show their anxiety or help, because if they do they are framed as weak. The major effect is that it disconnects them from their emotions. It creates a gender imbalance that acts as a double-edged sword.
“I am tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man’s past, present, or future property/possession. I do not belong to anyone but myself, and neither do you.”
Ariana Grande
After I read this quote the only thing which popped up in my mind is WHY? What makes it hard for society to understand that women can take care of themselves. They are capable enough to sustain themselves in the world just like a man. Women and men are different and that does not imply that women are weak.
I conclude the blog with this quote which fits perfectly in possibly all situations.
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
Marcus Aurelius
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