I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

_{-Malala Yousafzai}

Meaning of Feminism - The On-Going Advocacy for Equality

If we are going to look up the word "Feminism" in the dictionary we are going to pull out the ff. meanings: The advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of all sexes, The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, The belief all sexes should have equal rights and opportunities and the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men in the society.

“Feminism is about working against the fixed societal system that keeps certain groups of people exploited, and striving towards the pursuit of equality for everyone. It means fighting for intersectionality and recognizing how race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status affects feminism. It means taking a meaningful stance on injustices and standing up for inequalities. Feminism does not not exclude people based on their gender, race, socioeconomic status, ability, or sexual orientation. Feminism allows people to look at the world not as it is, but how it could be. It shines light on problems that the patriarchy perpetuates, but also comes up with ways to fix these complications.

Feminism Today -Where It Stands

Women have fought in decades to overcome stereotypes and have gained a position of near equality in many societal constructs. In a lot of countries today, all sexes both men and women enjoy almost equal social standing. Women can now vote, own businesses, hold political office and have a full spectrum of rights and privileges. They have reproductive and social rights. They can wear whatever they choose. Laws are in now put in place protecting them from various sexual assault and physical abuse. Great strides have been made throughout the years to empower women and to provide them with equal opportunities with men. Women have become world leaders and has taken leading roles in major businesses an corporations. Various women has also been recognized in science,arts and sports.

It is true that we’ve have come a long way but it still evident that we have more work to do to change perceptions and ensure gender equality for our future generations. According to United Nations in their Tackling Social Norms report:

It found 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear partiality against gender equality in sections such as politics, economic, education, intimate partner violence and women’s reproductive rights.

About 50% of men and women interviewed across 75 countries say they think men are better political leaders than women, while more than 40% felt that men made better corporate executives.

And perhaps more alarming , the gender bias against women has actually escalated in the last decade. Where the female identity is still threatened to a patriarchal past where men wield more power than women. Media on the other hand injects constructions of gender that portray clear stereotypes of men and women. Women are still portrayed in as sexual objects even though they hold powerful jobs and play valuable roles in a variety of social constructs, the paradigm of women as housewives still prevails.

References:

1. What Is Feminism, And Why Do So Many Women And Men Hate It?
2. The Secret To Women's Empowerment Is Women
3. Western Feminism in a Global Perspective
4. This is how women’s rights have progressed

Images:

1.,2.,3.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

       _{@sakura1012 is an ambivert, a non-conformist, a clinical psychology graduate student, a proud feminist and a life traveler. She is currently a part time writer- a mental health advocate and a mental health professional. She promotes mental health awareness and psychology related topics through her blogs. Join her as she do the things that she loves by putting her thoughts into words and by raising her voice though her articles.}