Do you consider yourself to be a feminist? If the answer is “Yes”, then you’re probably aware of the reasons as to why you need it, even in the 21st Century. Most people will try to shun the question by saying that they no longer require feminism and feminist in their so-called “gender equal world”.

Social media has for some time, portrayed feminism as a “man-hating” movement. You look up on YouTube, Facebook, or any other social networking site, about feminism, and you are welcomed to a world of hateful posts and demining comments, directed to these feminists. A valid reason as to why this is happening is that the millennials are not fighting their battles for justice, in a proper fashion. The methods mainstream feminists have adopted to bring their message into light, is down-right degrading. For instance, the rallies that were organized in America to fight against ‘rape-culture’, on some aspects, were considered highly unethical since women were protesting in the nude.

There are many other examples of such feminist activities that are considered degrading and un-lady like. If you perform a simple ‘google search’, finding information on how early feminists used to demand justice and rights, you will be shocked to notice the difference in their way of functioning and the way in which current feminists work.

But this doesn’t mean that we don’t need feminism anymore. The fact that women are still being overlooked and exploited in various aspects of their life, is one of the major reasons as to why we still need feminism.

Is Feminism Valid in 2019?

Many people believe that feminism is a thing from the past. It is considered outdated and invalid for the present world. Such is the thinking of a huge number of the American society. These men and women believe that the patriarchal system has dissolved, but that is not the case. In most cases, the men are still considered above women. Just look at the political scenario of our country. Even though women have the right to vote, and as a matter of fact the percentage of women voters are much more that that of men, they hold significantly lesser seats in the parliament. Governments are being dominated by the male gender. This is only one example.

Consider this, many people believe that women and men are on the same political, social and cultural level. But still there is a 23 percent pay gap. Many factors are responsible for this gap, such as choice of education, occupation, hours worked and job experience, etc. Yet there are many instances of women being paid less as compared to men, for doing the same job. And most of the time they are overlooked and forgotten about.

There is a collective thought of women, that they have equal rights and opportunities as men. This is possible, only due to the struggles of early feminists. Who knows what the world would be like if they hadn’t raised their voices! But only select groups of women enjoy these rights and freedom. The results of feminism aren’t being enjoyed by all women around the world. Women belonging to different communities have yet to taste what is feminism. This means that they are still living in a world where they are at the bottom of the society. A place where they have no respect and are forced to live under the word of the ‘head of the house’. Therefore, we need feminism now, and in even in the future, until every woman in the world experiences equality and freedom.

Another reason we need feminism is because till date, we teach women how to prevent rape, instead of teaching others not to view them as objects. We teach them not to stay out at night. The ability to express themselves is trapped by the society. And modern feminism is fighting against these injustices.

We need feminism because the act of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), is still practiced in about 29 countries. Because marital rape is still not considered illegal in more that 120 countries.

Feminism is required because Female Infanticides in middle-east countries attributes to millions of fewer females than males. The killings of these girls, just because they are females and are of less value than males, is unjust and cruel. 

We need feminism because of the Stoning’s performed on women of different countries. The cruel and torturous method of punishing and controlling women’s sexuality and freedom, needs to stop.

Feminists fight for their rights, and for the rights of people who are in no position to fight for themselves. Sympathizing for women who have yet to receive the benefits of feminism, should develop in the hearts of the people. Equality and freedom are the birth-rights for every individual.

Some of the most influential feminists.

Turacoz Foundation believes in equality of the sexes.Half of the world’s population are women, yet they were not treated half as-good-as how men are treated. But times have changed, and so has the societies thinking. And with this new and improved way of perceiving things, women’s importance has been recognized. But this new way of thinking didn’t come out of the blue. The women fought for their rights and struggled for a status, equal to that of men.

Turacoz Foundation is working towards women empowerment and changing societies perception about women. We believe that “A Woman is more than just a Gender”.

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