Feminism

[This essay was written by my 12-year old daughter Navya. She is in the 7th grade. The essay first appeared on her Medium blog https://medium.com/@navya0514. She has articulated it so beautifully, and this topic is so important that it deserves wider distribution. Hope you read it, like it and share it].

Imagine this: You are a young girl. You are obliged to stay at home and learn fundamental household chores while your brothers go off to school. You are taught that a women’s only purpose is to raise a child. Once you reach the age of 14, you are married off to an older man. Your parents consider this a huge relief as they don’t have to spend money or care for you anymore and they can spend their time and energy on your brothers, who are born to do great things because they are men. You have a child at the age of 15. And guess what? Its a girl. This is greeted with mourning and disappointment from your husband, parents and everyone else who thinks it’s a burden to have a girl.

This is an extreme example of sexism which is a stigma for many women throughout the world.

What is feminism? Well, feminism does not have a specific fundamental definition; but essentially it refers to the social, political and economic equality of the sexes and the radical concept that women are people too. It isn’t about making women stronger, women are already strong. It’s about transforming the way the world perceives that strength. The objective is to change the attitude that encourages girls to be demure and guys to be assertive. A girl can accomplish anything a boy can and vice versa. It’s clear we still live in a patriarchal society due to the reluctance that comes with saying one is a feminist.

Some may believe feminists are urging women to surpass men. But that’s not the purpose. By declaring one is a feminist, one is simply stating that he or she believes men and women deserve equal rights and opportunities.

Achieving gender equality can result in faster growth and development as it is impossible to succeed when half of the human population is held back. In India itself only 51% of women are literate while 75% of men are literate. The degree of a nation’s development can be measured by it’s female literacy rate. By valuing the contributions of women, the world can dismiss boundaries against gender, race, age & class as well as many other prominent forms of discrimination.

The most crucial step towards establishing an end to sexism is to accept the fact that one’s gender is entirely defined by one’s physical appearance and nothing more. By doing this you are expelling the boundaries as to what a man or woman can or cannot achieve.

In order to bring about a change one should attempt to learn more and spread awareness about the issue. This way we can all recognize the humanity of both men and women. To be a feminist you don’t have to hold a rally or create a petition- You just have to encourage every women in your life to be the best she can; be it your grandma, your sister or your maid. You can also encourage all the men in your life to provide support for women, every women deserves to know just how important she is.

Feminism is something very close to my heart and even if I haven’t converted you into a feminist I hope I have enlightened you on the importance of feminism. I highly encourage you to spread awareness and provide support as it is something that has a huge impact on each and every one of our lives. I firmly believe that women should have social, political and economic equality with men and it is very important to stimulate others to believe the same.

Essay by - Navya Agarwal