Feminism or Equalism?

Hey friends!! I hope you all are doing fab. Today’s topic is – “Feminism”.

 

There has always been a great taboo revolving around this word. Even it took me a lot of time to understand its true essence.

 

I’ll start with a question today. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear this word “feminism”?

 

If I am not wrong, is it something related to “female” or “women”?

 

Yes, the same thing used to hit my mind as well.

 

There is a lot of hype about feminism stating that “feminists” demands special right for women.

If you also think this way, then please stay tuned and read this complete article. It will definitely give you a new outlook.

 

So, as I said, many people confuse feminism with, giving special rights to women, but this is not the right picture that has been projected onto our minds for so long.

 

Just because the word “feminism” has “fem” in it which slightly matches with “female” does not mean it revolves around females. Not at all.

 

I perceive feminism as “EQUALITY”. Yes, this is the simplest idea of feminism. Just equality.

Equality between men and women on every ground, be it political, economic, personal, and social. This is what every feminist strive for.

 

Feminism is not about demanding special rights, it’s just about demanding equal rights.

 

Being the younger generation, we all rely upon facts. So, first, I am going to share with you some facts that I have collected.

 

Fact – 1: According to the Global Gender Gap Report it will take another century or 99.5 years to be exact, to be able to achieve gender parity.

 

Fact – 2: The global parliamentary representation of women is just 25%.

 

Fact – 3: Around 10% of girls aged 15–24 in the world are illiterate.  

 

Fact – 4: According to the UN figures, not even a single country has achieved gender equality on all measures, such as economic, political, and social indices.

 

Fact – 5: According to the UN researchers, only 14% of women and 10% of men are actually free of bias against women rest 90% are biased against women.

 

Fact – 6: Sweden tops the list of gender discrimination followed by India.

 

Fact-7: In developing countries, for every hundred boys who continue their education after high school, only fifty-five girls are able to do the same.

 

Fact – 8: On average, women around the world spend more than twice as many hours as men doing unpaid work. In the US, women spend an average of four hours a day while men just 2.5. There is not even a single country where this difference is zero.

 

Fact – 9: Out of a total of 195 countries across the globe, 113 countries do not have laws to ensure equal pay for equal work among men and women.

 

Fact – 10: 104 countries make certain jobs off-limits for women.

 

Fact – 11: 39 countries have laws that say, a daughter cannot inherit the same proportion of assets as a son.

 

Fact – 12: 36 countries limit what wives can inherit from their husbands.

 

Fact-13: 29 countries restrict the hours women can work.

 

Fact-14: 18 countries allow men to prohibit their wives from working.

 

Fact-15: 17 countries limit when and how women can travel outside the home.

 

I hope these facts and figures must have given you a reason to read further. I believe that it is these outmoded laws that are holding women back from equality empowerment. Not only this but our society also plays a great role in pulling the women behind.

 

Just to make one thing crystal clear, I’m not in favor of someone who takes advantage of feminism or someone who takes advantage of being a girl. We all must have seen many incidents where women misuse their rights. Such people have no right to call themselves feminists; they are just another medium to exploit our society.

 

Just as I said, I perceive feminism as equality between men and women. So, to make myself more clear, I’ll try to explain it to you with the help of an example.

 

Suppose, on a scale of 10, men are 8 and women just 3. There is a gap of 5 points. I am in favor of equality, so maybe you’ll think to give equal rights or here, equal points to men and women. What if we add one point to each of them? Men will be at 9 while women at 4, and the difference will still remain the same. What improvement does it make? What difference does it create anyways?

 

But, don’t worry I have a solution to it. What if we try the idea of equity? i.e. being fair. If we want women to get an equal position as men, then we all have to put some extra effort to uplift women. Let’s consider the same scenario where men are at 8 points while women at 3. Now, if men themselves including all the women try to uplift women from point 3 to 8, then only we’ll be able to achieve equality. Isn’t this a great idea?

 

Many of you might think that it’s unfair but it’s not my friends because men are already on a pedestal, they already have many advantages over women. At this point instead of shouting that, “why are these women given so much special rights and all the comfort?” they should encourage the empowerment of women by taking equal participation in this cause.

 

I really think that men can help women a lot in bridging this gap. All we need is to change our outlook on this matter.

 

Some seats are reserved for women in buses as well as in metros. A few months back, the Chief Minister of Delhi, made bus fares free for all the women. These are not some sort of special rights that are being given to women but these are just a small initiative that allows women to come out of their box and to put a step forward towards their empowerment.

 

No offense to anybody, but you should not take these things personally. If we want a Nation with equality then we all have to contribute towards this.

 

A Nation that flourishes in equality will prosper in every dimension.

 

In the end, a special note to women too, please never ever misuse your rights, you’re given a beautiful chance to bridge the gap of gender equality. So, always do the right thing. Respect your opposite gender for they will definitely help you out through this process.

 

I tried to make my points very clear through this article. But still, if you have any contradictory thoughts, do mention them in the comment section. I’ll love to hear them with an open mind. If you enjoyed this blog post, share it with your peers and subscribe to The Lifezig.

 

Until next time, Stay Safe and Stay Tuned.

 

Thank you!!