Why Do We Still Need Feminism?
Women have now plenty of rights; so many people think that feminism is obsolete. The struggle for women’s rights, however, is never over. In Western’s culture as in other cultures women had been discriminated against.
Photo taken by Drew Angerer of a feminist demonstration in 2017.
Sexism at home
In Western’s culture there is still a dramatic difference between men and women.
Even if women can vote in America, they still have less than twenty percent of seats in Congress.
Furthermore, society teaches girls how to prevent rape occurring instead of educating boys to respect girls and to understand that no means no! Moreover, the girl victim is still asked what she was wearing during the crime like it is an excuse for the attacker.
In addition, women are still defined by their looks. The makeup industry is a classic example. The advertising industry is another, which still uses the naked female body to try to sell a car to a man.
Besides, sexual discrimination in the workplace also still exists. A woman still has less chance of getting employed and is generally paid less and has less opportunity of getting a promotion than a man just because she may get pregnant. The majority of home parents are women rather than male because men still get better earning opportunities than women.
However, women who live in Western’s countries have more rights than the others who live in some other countries.
Sexism all over the world
Feminism is important today as, contrary to appearances, there is still a long way to go to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women all over the world. In many African countries, even though it’s prohibited, female genital mutilation still occurs. It is estimated thousands of women are excised every year to preserve the longevity of a woman’s virginity. Moreover, every day it is estimated that more than 40,000 girls are married before their eighteenth birthday. They are often victims of maternal mortality or domestic violence.
Furthermore, in China baby boys carry a far greater importance to baby girls. This is because society still sees a boy and a man far more able to earn and provide for the family and places less value on a baby girl. As a result many baby girls are abandoned or in extreme cases killed by desperate families.
Women and men have to carry on the fights to arrive to an equal society.
Emma L.