What Does True Feminism Mean?

What I Think True Feminism Should be About

Though the feminist movement has influenced the change of some laws and inspired

a lot of women to take on leadership positions all around the world, I think it would have achieved much more if it had not taken a different path of men - hating.

Men have never been the problem of women and will never be. They were both created by the Almighty creator to compliment each other with their uniqueness. The woman is uniquely different from the man and vice versa. Nature so made it that men couldn't play some specific roles women can play and vice versa. So trying to make one sex behave like the other and vice versa will not help the existence of the human race.

I think feminism is supposed to be a call to responsibility, aspirations and accountability of the female folks. The feminist movement would have achieved much more, but it is finding it hard to penetrate certain cultures, traditions and belief systems in the world because some of the pioneers and present propagators of the feminist ideologies are making it seem like a war against men, traditions and cultures of a people.

Yes, we all understand that some traditions and cultures shouldn't be reckoned with in this age and time, but you can't compel them to be changed by attacking them. You have to present logical points why you think they should be done away with and the benefits such change will bring to the people of such culture or tradition.

You can't fight against the traditions and cultures of a people that have been passed from generation to generation without meeting stiff resistance. Everytime I hear a woman that claims to be a feminist talk, all she'll be talking about are the things or privileges that men are getting that should be stripped off them and given to women or the things that men are doing or not doing that they should either be compelled to do or forced to stop doing.

They're presenting feminism in a way that a lot of people, even fellow women alike are beginning to think that the feminist movement is an anti-men movement or a call for women to be irresponsible with the I can do whatever I like with my body slogan. Forgetting that after they might have done whatever they like with their bodies and peradventure a problem occurs as a result of their actions, their loved ones will also join them to share in the pain.

Instead of the Feminist movement to engage more in charging more women to aspire for greatness, they are thinking of ways to strip men of the things that they have worked for and earned. This approach is making a lot of people - male and female alike to resent the feminist movement and not wanting to have anything to do with it.

Look, a woman can aspire to be whatever she wants if her mind is conditioned properly and she's given the needed support - Likewise a man. So the argument of what men are getting or what women are not getting won't be there if a lot of women are encouraged to aspire for more in life.

Yes, I know that there are or were some parts of the world where women are being deprived from engaging in certain activities or carrying out some functions because of their cultures or traditions. But even in such places, there are also benefits that the women of such places are enjoying that the men there can't get easily as a result of same traditions or cultures. Though I'm not trying to justify any limitations imposed on a particular gender as a result of unfavorable traditions, cultures or laws. What I'm trying to say here is that, making men the enemy won't make such unfavorable traditions go away.

Making the women in such traditions see the need for a change and the benefits such change will bring to them and will compel them to fight for their own cause in a civilized manner without taking the route of men-hating. Feminism should be about encouraging women to aspire to achieving their dreams.

There was a time in my country- about four to five decades ago, when there was this general belief among the uneducated parents and few educated ones that educating the girl child will be a big loss to the parents because she'll be given out in marriage to another family. Thus, the other family that she is given out to would be the one to reap the sweat of the parents.

But with time, such mindset changed and now in some parts of my country, parents are investing more in the girl child educationally than the male child because experience had shown most parents that the female child has the higher possibility of catering for them in their old age than the male child in most cases. The female child not being educated previously was more of a misconstrued belief than hate for the female child. No parent would relent from giving their kids the best regardless of the gender if they understand that they are investing in their own future and peace of mind.

So I think feminism should be a Wake up call to women to dream big and aspire for more in life. It should also be a Wake up call to parents to invest in their children regardless of their gender. Men and Women need each other in order to make the world a better place. Thus, the uniqueness of both gender should be appreciated and enhanced for the betterment of the world. This is my take of what the feminist movement should be about. What do you think?
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