Annie Lennox asserts that “feminism” ought to be presented from a “global perspective”

• Annie Lennox asserts that “feminism” ought to be presented from a “global perspective.”
• Annie Lennox is disclosing how she came to identify as a “global feminist.”
• All women and girls need to feel included in feminism for it to be effective.

Annie Lennox is disclosing how she came to identify as a “global feminist.” The “Sweet Dreams” singer, 68, wrote a reflective article on why men and women everywhere should grasp what it means to be a feminist and how The Circle, which she started in 2008, “fights for a fairer future for women and girls across the world” in honor of International Women’s Day on Wednesday.

It actually took me a few years as a young woman in the early 1970s before I could use the word “feminist” to describe myself.

In 1985, when I wrote “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves,” I still didn’t think I “deserved” to identify as a true feminist because I thought my slight obsession with make-up and shoes may preclude me from membership.

This misconception was further exacerbated by a lingering tender spot for guys. Another element, in my mistaken opinion, effectively excluded me from the feminist women’s movement.

Thinking back, I suspect that those emotions, misconceptions, and concerns weren’t unique to me. My peer group of Cosmopolitan readers admired “genuine” feminists, such as those who were fearlessly and proudly demonstrating against the storing of nuclear weapons at  Greenham Common Air Base, but we probably didn’t feel ourselves to be zealous enough to take a stance under the same banner.

Many years passed before I received an invitation to participate in the Women of the Year Awards in 2010, proving that attitudes do change.

By that point, I was self-assured (or naive) enough to approach the onstage podium and ask the women there to “Stand up if you’re a feminist,” mistakenly believing that everyone would do the same in a show of unifying Sisterhood.

I made bad judgments

The remaining 200 people in the room remained seated, awkwardly unsure of what to do with themselves as one-half of the audience stood up.

Embarrassing? Only a tiny bit

The lesson I learned from the incident.

Never make any assumptions. Although if I now believe the response would be much more unanimity and enthusiasm, I would still exercise even greater caution when drawing implications from the future. All women and girls need to feel included in feminism for it to be effective. All of us must feel as though it is a part of our lives, not only the most ardent and extreme ones.

I’m more certain than ever that feminism needs to be made more approachable, understandable, and informed by women and girls living in the nations with the greatest obstacles and restrictions, as well as by men and boys.

Most especially for millions of human beings living in countries such as Afghanistan, where emancipation and empowerment are essential for progress, but where equal rights and opportunities are currently being rolled backward at the speed of light.

Ask “those” ladies what the greatest issues are facing women and girls face right now and you might get very different replies from the responses you’d receive in Washington, London, or Paris.

They will tell you that it is about helping the young women in Tehran and Kabul who are sacrificing their lives and futures to fight for their freedoms and fundamental human rights.

They will tell you it’s about the need to advocate for female garment workers to get a livable wage, safe working conditions, and fair treatment from their employers in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

And people will tell you that it is about stopping physical or sexual violence anywhere in the world because it directly affects their lives and will affect one in three women over the course of their lifetimes. A third of women. Totaling over 1.3 billion. The population of abused women alone would be more than the combined populations of all of Europe and North America.

Nevertheless, when has the problem of sexual violence in the world been discussed during a G7 summit?

I founded The Circle, an organization dedicated to obtaining equal rights and pay for women around the world and stopping the violence endured by hundreds of millions of people every day, fifteen years ago.

We already provide support to tens of thousands of individual women and girls annually through our grassroots partners who are on the front lines of that fight all around the world. We support the worldwide adjustments that will benefit billions, from the UN to the European Parliament.

The Circle’s primary goal is to advance the idea of Global Feminism that women everywhere can identify with and consider to be pertinent to their everyday lives.

Years passed before I finally understood and realized that feminism needed to be defined and expressed from a global standpoint.

Let’s try to fight for the right to live in safety and security, the right to a decent living wage, and an education that will lead us all to a life worth living in addition to the glass ceilings in boardrooms and equal pay. This is why I am an ardent Global Feminist!

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