The past year has been the one truly marked for women and rightly that it was the year of feminism. A term most used but least understood by many, it has been a nebulous concept at times but that cannot empty it off it's honest meaning. I come across people who are rather puzzled whether they are one or not because feminism includes so many sectors and they may not agree with one or two of them.
To clear the air, here are a few statements by some incredible women from a truly vulnerable industry.
" Feminism is not a movement, and a feminist is not a tree-hugging, jhola-wearing, bespectacled, short-haired, man-hating, bra-burning individual. A feminist is simply someone who respects the choice of an individual to lead her/his life the way she/he sees fit. And when you see it for the simple philosophy that it is, it's hard to understand why anyone would choose to be anything other than a feminist."
" My idea of feminism is that it is equality, right? Feminism is not a concept. Feminism is compensation. It is a subject of discussion these days because eventually, we have to emphasise that men and women are same, that only blood flows through our veins like anybody else's, and there has to be equal pay for equal work. So, feminism is compensation for a lack in the society. We live in a sick society, and feminism is its medicine."
" No gender is fairer than the other. Women are not a doormat. We are equivalent to men. It's just that we have different bodies and different biological needs.We have capacities which should be celebrated and rewarded in the society. The simple point is that because w omen have been suppressed for so long they need to rise up and take over. For things to be equal again."
S he also went on to say 'everyone is a feminist, and a person who does not identify as one is a bad human being'
" My great hope for us as young women is to start being kinder to ourselves so that we can be kinder to each other."
All the four women are whom I adore and empathise with. Finally, the idea of feminism is a fight for justice, freedom and equality in every sense of the word, while freedom and equality are relative terms and not agreeing to one definition of it shouldn't kill your belief in the idea itself.
