The Real Meaning of Feminism and why Young Women don't Want to be Associated with It

Where exactly did your mind wander after reading those two words? Women, yeah?

That's basically one of the first misunderstandings that our society has pushed our minds into believing, a person of any gender who believe in feminism is a feminist which include not only women but men as well, sadly over the past few years, the word 'feminism' has been a hot topic for various controversies, resulting in making the feminist movement a taboo in various countries, due to which even women don't want themselves to be called as feminist, reason most of the time being they don't want to be associated with sexism, man hating or portraying women as a superior gender to men.

Now the main question stands, Is that what feminism stands for? Are those the views of feminists? Is it really man hating? No, absolutely not.

The advocacy of feminism is based on equal rights for every gender, not only is feminism associated with the equal rights for every sex, but it also believes in equality within every race and religion as well and if you are a believer of equality and equalism too then sorry to inform you but you are a feminist as well.

Over the course of time, a lot of people have presented their confusion over the nameology of the word feminism, mostly their concern being, why keeping the name of a movement that promotes equality as feminism/ feminist movement instead of something more liberal like humanism?

Humanism has nothing to do with human rights; instead, it is an outlook that gives prime importance to the human brain rather than any religion, supernatural or divinity. It is a system of thoughts that focuses on how wonderful the working of the human mind can be, a belief that humans need not to rely on anything inexplicable other than their own self.

Humanism is not in any way related to equal rights for women or men. instead, it's entirely based on science and scientific methods that humans can call upon by replacing religious practices, for the purpose of decision making and solving their problems. therefore making humanism something entirely different than standing up for human rights and equality among all humans.

Is there anyone out there who can actually say that there has not been gender disparities since ages, especially the disparities that were significantly directed towards the female section of society throughout the entire world? Can we, without any guilt ignore the fact that women have been victims of discrimination since years?

We all want and have always wanted to live in a society that treats everyone equally, but to create that society of equality would women have ever gotten the same rights as men if they hadn't spoken up for themselves, or would we be where we are now if they hadn't gotten a movement that solely concentrated on bringing up the status of women on the same platform as that of the men.

Some people might oppose this by saying, all of that happened in past or times have changed, i know times have changed and so have we all, but even if we talk about our time, if we keep educated and privileged women, who enjoy equality at their best, like me aside for a moment, aren't there still some women out there who have to face injustice because they are just.... women? maybe not in your town, maybe not in your city, maybe not in your country but somewhere out there, it's still happening and it's our duty, the ones who are privileged, the ones who can address it on a large scale, the ones who can make people understand the real meaning behind it, Do it.

The world feminism has held more controversies regarding its name and not what it stands for, so in attempt to end all these doubts and questions, at least for my own self, I did a little research and found out the term “Feminism” was derived from the suffrage movement of the early 1900’s, when historically women were campaigning for their right to vote. Hence, the movement was almost only focused on women, because let’s face it, why would men fight for a right they already have?

Even, according to the webber dictionary, feminism is a belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities in our society. It's called feminism just because it is about empowering women, not because it has an ideology of putting men down.

I've met and known so many women of my age who say things like :

"I'm not a feminist because i love my father, brother, husband or son"

or

"I don't need feminism because I'm educated and already empowered"

I even find pictures on internet of people holding paper in their hands that say : "I don't need feminism because I respect boys,"

Honestly speaking, i find those pictures disturbing to guts because feminism does respect men, as I've already explained being a feminist doesn't mean you hate men, hate never was, never is and never will be a solution for any problem in this world. Feminism just wants equality and human rights. Same for every human, woman, man, transsexual, Muslim, Christian, homosexual, heterosexual, whatever a person wants to be. just because you are working for the betterment of one gender doesn't mean you have to neglect the other.

Just because you are already educated and privileged doesn't mean you can't be a feminist, truth be told feminism never was about what you can do for yourself as a woman, it's about what you can do for those of your sisters who are not getting the same equality and as you.

I've been a female for a lot of time and it would be very idiotic of me to not be on my own side. Truthfully, being a feminist isn't a choice, but a promise. A promise I've made to my mother, my sisters and all before anyone, my own self from the day I was blessed with the body of a woman. For me, feminism holds a special place in my heart. It's not just a movement that I support but a belief, a hope for a better future and a way of life I would very much like to pursue.

if someone were to ask me about the my idea of an ideal world, the answer according to me would be crystal clear, a feminist world, a world where we aren't treated any different than men, a world where our voices would be heard and opinions would matter equally.

As for me, a feminist world is a world where every women would be given the same opportunities as any man of their age. A world that not only accepts and encourages women to be independent but it also encourages men to express their feelings as well.

If we want to bring about any change, then we have to be that change. No regulations, no NGOs, no campaigns can save us, other than ourselves. Easier said than done but it's the only way to overcome these problems, as long as a person is afraid of heights, he/she won't be able to reach the top of a mountain. Let us unite together and bring about the change that we want to see, and achieve the respect and freedom we deserve, as a mother, as a sister, as a daughter, as a woman and as a human being.

It's high time that we stop waiting for a knight in shining armor to come and pick us up, It's time that we stop blaming others for what we face. It's time that we wake up from the deep slumber, it's time that we, who are capable, help our other dear sisters. It's time that we bring the light and lost hope into the lives of those who feel defeated. It's time that we fight our own fights. It's time that every girl walks alone freely at night without having a fear of being a prey. It's time that we take small steps to achieve something big and something that's our birth right. It's time that each and every woman is truly empowered and given the respect that she deserves and it's time we let everyone know that we too have an equal right in everything.

Lastly I would want to say that feminism is for those who want to take the fight for women and the most credible to do that are women herself. So, don't ever be ashamed of calling yourself a feminist. And the least others can do is encourage them not to give up the fight, instead of judging and discouraging them.