International Women’s Day 2021: Debate on the meaning of “Feminism”

I often see contradicting thoughts on the phenomenon of “feminism” on social media. Many people think if a girl is a feminist it means she hates men. Do people really know what feminism is?

I often face criticism when I share content supporting women’s empowerment and feminist thoughts. However, people are happy when I share content supporting men and opposing women on social media.

It is pathetic to see that even in this modern era, gender equality issues and women empowerment become controversial topics and the community cannot agree on the matter. It is because what I saw is social media users tend to indulge themselves in an online battle and arguments instead of presenting their ideas and understanding other people’s perspectives. We all need to know and learn what feminism actually is.

What is feminism?

According to an international news source and according to the definitions available on the internet, feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the matters of the equality of the sexes.

Feminism is also the theory of political, economic, and social equality.

Basically, feminism demands equal and not “same” rights of both men and women. So, hatred for men is not even mentioned in the above lines. Men and Women play their part in nourishing and prosperity of the society. It is just like both are separate vehicles on a road. The problem arises when one vehicle wants to overtake another one.

What rights do women demand?

I guess not all women want to dominate men in society. Women have a separate page of rights and authorities and men have separate ones. Sometimes women get deprived of the rights that are designated for them. For instance, a girl has the right to study, to join any profession she wants, or to enjoy entertainment facilities in the society. Still, in many countries, girls are fighting to achieve their “own” privileges.

What can we do as a member of society?

As I mentioned above, when I talk about problems faced by women, some people oppose them and talk about other issues. Social media is a platform for connecting and exchanging ideas.

However, the importance of main issues gets faded when other issues are discussed at the same time.

It cannot be denied that gender issues still prevail in society. What we need to do is to respect other people’s opinions and resolve the matters one by one instead of overlapping them. In this way, all our issues can be solved through understanding, without hurting anyone. On the whole, both women and men have the authority to ask for their rights, but they should not suppress one another.