Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies, it is a fight against gender stereotypes and is about justice and equality between all genders. Feminism is a thought or should I say standard of living, it is about empowering women and encouraging them to fight for the rights and equality that she deserves, it is about how women can influence society to be more vigilant and broad-minded.
When we hear the word feminism the first thing that comes to our mind is advocacy of women, but is it just about women? So the answer is no, every man who empowers and supports women to be what she wants to be is a sign of feminism. Feminism is not how the society might have interpreted as male dominant or women superior but it is about equality, justice, and respect that our ancestors fought for. The privileges that we enjoy today, the society that we live in, was always not a supporter of independent women but our ancestors fought for these rights side to side; shoulder to shoulder.
But did it really pay off? Are the women members of society using it as an advantage or exploitation? So I would say this totally depends on the psychology of humans as we can witness a lot of women empowerment as well as society exploitation cases. For example, we might see a huge change in the rate of women’s literacy and independence. On the contrary, we have also witnessed cases like the Amity University Car Parking case, where a girl named Komal with the help of her male friend which she calls “friend zoned boys” brutally beats the boys namely Harsh and Madhav from her college in the parking area and called herself a feminist but this was an unacceptable pseudo-feminist case for the society that can also influence people to oppose the concept of feminism.
A true case of women empowerment or feminism is Savitri Bai Phule as she was the first female teacher in India which helped society to be more vigilant about girls’ literacy. Moving further I would like to project light on the story of Savitri Bai Phule.
The nation Is remembering the first female teacher in Modern India, Savitri Bai Phule. She was born on 3rd January 1831 in Naigaon, a small village in Maharashtra. Her life Is heralded as a beacon of women’s rights in India. She was married at the mere age of nine years to Jyotirao Phule in 1840. Impressed by her enthusiasm to learn, Jyotirao taught Savitribai to read and write. She undertook teachers’ training and became a qualified teacher in 1847.
Determined to change the condition of women in the country, Savitribai, along with Jyotirao, opened a school for girls in Pune in 1848. She became the first female teacher in India. Sympathizing with the plight of widows in the country, Savitribai also established a shelter for destitute women in 1864. Mrs. Savitribai was instrumental in shaping Satyashodhak Samaj, established by Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
When the Bubonic plague spread across Maharashtra in the 1890s, Savitribai opened a clinic for the plague victims in Hadapsar, Pune. And it was while carrying a 10-year-old plague victim to the clinic in her arms, she contracted the disease herself. On March 10, 1897, Savitribai Phule breathed her last. Savitribai’s life and work is a testament to social reform and female empowerment in Indian society. This story not only inspires us about female literacy but also enhances the ideology that with a little support women can influence the whole society. Feminism is not about making women stronger as women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.
Summing this all up, feminism in my opinion is not telling women what a man can do but letting her be whatever she wants to be and simply not limiting her achievements. Or as Malala Yusufzai, a Pakistani education activist said,” I didn’t raise my voice to shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.
… We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
