Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes(www.oxforddictionaries.com). Feminists fight to close the gap between the genders and fight off stereotypes surrounding each gender. Today, feminists have been stereotyped as ‘extreme’ and believing that ‘women are superior’ and the true message of feminism has been lost because at this point, everyone should be able to say that they are a feminist yet due to the stigma around it, we hesitate.
In the struggle for equal rights, it is important to empower women and make sure that they are aware that they do have rights and that the gap between the genders is not ok.
Hence, since the earliest National Woman’s Day on the 28th of February 1909 in New York, International Women’s day has been celebrated every year since.
The 2019 UN theme for International Women’s day was to ‘Think equal, build smart and innovate for change’. This highlights how we should be trying to find new ways to close the gender gap and empower women all around the world. We should recognise that everyone should celebrate this day, because as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said ‘We should all be feminists’.
People still might take this statement and question how to show their appreciation towards everyone alike.
At the Ursuline, in celebration of International Women’s Day, books by inspirational women were promoted in order to encourage people to read them and make people aware of the successes of different women globally who are making a difference. Kenya Distefano, a student at Ursuline said ‘I loved seeing the display of books by different women, not only was it empowering but also inspirational as it showed that we can all achieve our goals when we ignore stereotypes and challenge our setbacks.’ If you would like to actively take part in learning more about the steps toward change, there are a number of places you can visit and things you can do. If you are interested in educating yourself on past activists, campaigners and past research into equality, you can visit the Feminist Library in Westminster, London or, you can also attend protests and marches which aim to bring attention to the time sensitive issue and get involved.
But even simpler than this, you can endorse feminist writers and practitioners in your work place and home and chose to not encourage the stigma surrounding this word in your everyday lives and encourage others to change their perceptions because as Gloria Steinem once said ‘A feminist is anyone who recognises the equality and full humanity of women and men’ and we all should.
