Things You Should Know About Feminism

Feminism, I believe, is the most misunderstood word in today's date. Some think it means women are above men, whereas others think that its actual concept is to demean men. Both of these definitions are completely wrong. But then what does FEMINISM mean? Who is a feminist?
According to my class X political science book, a feminist is described as "A woman or a man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men." I am sure that half the people reading this must have once had this question pop up in their heads that if feminism is actually about equality, then why isn't it called 'humanism'? Well, the movement of feminism came up in the early 1990s, a time when women weren't even allowed to have their own opinions! The movement originally started to get women the basic right to vote. It was a fight for a right that men already had without any struggle. The fact that women were never really treated as equals resulted in the existence of the word feminism itself. But yes, the sad reality is also that a lot of people today are misusing the word to get their work done, but that doesn't mean that feminism is wrong, it just means that those people are wrong!
Feminism doesn't ask you to respect women because they are women. It asks you to respect women because they are humans; it asks you to respect everyone. If a person believes inequality but wouldn't like to identify him/herself as a feminist needs to know what feminism actually is.

By: Aashriya Bhatia