Why am I a Feminist?

Source- On your Mark Research

 I am so tired of people using 'Feminist' like an insult or demonising Feminists as men haters. Some people (most people) say "I believe in gender equality but I am not a feminist" which clearly shows the image Feminism has.

  I say I believe in equality for all irrespective of origin, gender identity, skin-colour, sexual identity, religion and I am a Feminist. 

So what is Feminism?

Wikipedia - "Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women."

Oxford Dicionary 'The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes'

So here is Why I am a Feminist : -

  

1. I believe women should have voting rights and the right to drive their cars (yes some women can't)

2. I believe that a woman's right to choosing a career or being a stay home parent are as important as that of their fathers, brothers, male partners.

3. I believe working women should have the same salary as their male counterparts.

4. I believe the streets should be safe from sexual harassment and abuse for women irrespective of the time of the day or her attire

5. I believe women should have the right to choose contraception or not, the right to choose amongst different methods, the right to abortion, health care during pregnancy, etc irrespective of her marital status - in brief reproductive rights

6. I believe that women should not have to tolerate emotional blackmail and/or physical violence from their partner

7. I believe that women should not be burned/tortured because they could not bring enough dowry

8. I believe that her parents should not even have to give dowry

9. I believe that young girls have the same right to education as young boys

10. I believe that widowed and divorced women should not be stigmatised or marginalised, nor men

11. I believe that vaginal incision and female genital mutilation, supposedly for increasing sexual pleasure or tradition or whatever other reason is inhuman

12. I believe that female infanticide must come to an end

If you nodded in agreement to all my statements or even if you agreed with 10 (10 = you need to read some more about the issues you answered 'No' to), then you are a Feminist silly! 

Embrace it! The cause needs as many women and men to accept it so we can stop thinking of 'Feminist' as an insult and hope for a gender equal society.

Here is an idea of why some of us might think being a feminist is being a man hater when it is SO NOT!

Feminist Frequency completed her kickass, Tropes vs Women series - Representations of women in Hollywood films and TV shows.  Her last video the Straw Feminist deals with what she calls the Straw Feminist trope:

"It is a deliberately created, exaggerated caricature of a feminist that is used to undermine and ridicule feminist movements."

By the way if you are a woman and you can vote, go to school and college, use contraception, work and have a women's room in your workplace -  you have feminists who lead the way in the past to Thank and today's feminists as well, these rights are not exercised by a lot of women even today. Oh! Feminism has no gender, people with all gender identities can be and are feminists.

If you are still not convinced or want to understand better, then here are some pointers to help further. 5 Ways to Diss Feminism on Women's Web by Aparna founder, writer Women's Web.