I came home from school feeling very elated. I had been assigned an important duty. I was in the second grade; my teacher had asked me to prepare a prayer to read for assembly!
I wrote down a prayer: “God is our creator, he is kind, he is merciful.” After writing the prayer I took it to my 10-year-old brother for corrections. I was doubtful about my spellings. My brother took one look at my prayer and with a mischievous smile asked me a question: “How can you be so sure that God is a ‘he’ and not a ‘she’?
Aren’t girls kind and brave? Isn’t our mother compassionate and caring?”
Suddenly my perspective changed. My brother was the first feminist I had met.
What is feminism? According to the English dictionary ‘feminism’ is advocating for women’s rights on the ground of equality. For the past few centuries women have been struggling for their rights. Feminists all over the world have differed in their cause, goals and demands, based on the country and period in which they lived. Women are making themselves heard in the political, social, economic and personal level. A woman is also an individual with opinions, aspirations and dreams. Today feminism has developed a negative connotation. Some people are ashamed to call themselves feminists. They associate it with aggressiveness, radicalism. A feminist is called a “man-hater”.
A woman who raises her voice for her rights is seen as bossy, whereas a man who does the same is an upright citizen. I see no need to complicate a simple word. Every man who gives the same opportunity of education to his son and daughter, every woman who loves her children equally and every teacher who encourages his or her students without any gender bias, are all feminists. Progressive societies do give equal opportunities to women, but India still has a long way to go. We need a world where the womb is respected. A girl child’s birth must be as welcome as that of a boy.
Child marriage, dowry system, sexual exploitation of minors are all dark areas where the feminist movement has to fight valiantly. The key to oppose the gender bias is education. Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, caused fear in the hearts of the terrorists merely by holding a pen and a book. In her biography ‘I am Malala’ she states: “I rise up my voice not so I can shout but that those without a voice can be heard.” We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.
- The reader is a former teacher in India and is a resident of Dubai.
