By Sanah Malik
As a man, you ultimately become the “decision-makers of the house”, the people who say the word make everyone else abide by it. Birds born in jail, believe freedom is a myth; that is what I believed. Chained by societal expectations, women are suppressed at every stage of life. One can say it would be easier if we were born men, but why must our gender confine our growth, our ability to think and make decisions? For the same amount of work, must we be paid less; must we beg to be taken seriously and be a part of the societal mainstream? I refuse to let women like me suffer, no other species on the planet Earth is discriminated against based on their gender. Our patriarchal approach and inflexible mind-set have killed dreams and many trailblazers, who ultimately refused to stand down. I don’t believe that a country where half of the population is female can embark on the path of progress if the males continue wallowing in their desire to dominate. There was once a time when women in Iceland revolted and fought for their rights with such zeal and indefatigable spirit that the whole nation came to a standstill. They refused to budge until their rights were granted, and eventually, they were. Today, Iceland is the front runner in achieving gender equality. Undoubtedly, women were not the only ones who fought, everybody who believed in equal rights for all joined hands against injustice. Everyone became a “feminist”.
The HeForShe campaign initiated by the United Nations urges people to stand in solidarity to help advance gender equality. As an educated millennial, I know that you wouldn’t want women from all walks of life to be continuously suppressed. This is our chance to make a difference and bring about a substantial change that can revolutionize the world. Knowledge and capability do not discriminate, but society does. If we break the shackles that bind women, then we’d be able to create a ripple in the vast ocean that surrounds them.
Behind every strong woman should be a man who believed in her. After all, a feminist is a person who believes in the power of women just as much as they believe in the power of anyone else. Life must not be a competition between the superiority of gender, but rather, a collaboration. Today, I just want you to support the radical notion that women are human beings who deserve basic human rights. As Emma Watson, the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, rightly said, “Gender equality is our issue too”. In sum, it is time to stand up for what is right because if not now, when?
Sources
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heforshe.org%2Fen%2Fcommit%2Fstandardbank&psig=AOvVaw1vhyW-g-9MB-UD2oEF24CA&ust=1617932017989000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMjnwM3A7e8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ
https://www.heforshe.org/sites/default/files/glazed_builder_images/Mobile-Movement-min.jpg