Be a Proud Feminist on This International Women’s Day

It’s International Women’s Day today. Media is bombarding us with the advertisements, write-ups, documentaries, news about the importance of women’s day and how we have reached here today. There are many among us who are celebrating this day with great enthusiasm. But, I do not want to talk about the past. I do not want to give you all the statistical data and facts in this article and I do not want to tell you again about the history of women’s day which can be traced back to many decades. (Though I am very proud of it.) Instead, let’s talk about the future. We all talk about celebrating women’s day and giving women equal rights in every aspect. We celebrate the achievements of women in social, political, economic and cultural areas. But, when the topic of feminism comes forward, most of the people do not want any association with it. Even many women proudly claim that they are not feminists. Do we even know what feminism is? What it stands for? Most of us associate feminism with ‘man-hating’ or women wanting to be the dominant sex. According to Oxford dictionary, the definition of feminism is ‘the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of sexes’. It all comes down to equality. You can be a man and still be a feminist. And that’s what celebrating women’s day is about. Then why are we so afraid of that word? Feminism does not mean being the dominant sex and treating men the same way they were treating women from centuries. No. This is definitely not what feminist movement wants to achieve. There is nothing wrong with being powerful and being able to lead. But, for a balanced society, we need balanced sexes. And for that, we need to break the notion of gender roles. There is no point in arguing if men are stronger than women or if women are greater than men. The point is, everyone is strong or great in his or her own way. It shouldn’t be about gender. It should be about the uniqueness of every individual regardless of his or her sex. It should be about accepting that women are also human beings, and rights for women means rights for humans. At a certain level, a true feminist is not only fighting for the rights and equality of women; but it is also for the best of both, men and women. And it certainly does not stop at laws being passed in the favour of equality. It should go much deeper than that. It should change the mentality of the society rather than only laws. Embracing the differences and celebrating the achievements together is the only thing that we should do and it is the only thing that will truly help us in recognizing the true spirit of women’s day. Though, I would be actually prouder if we didn’t need a day to celebrate and fight for the blissful existence of women-kind. But, at least today, we do need to celebrate this day. So, let’s do it right!