On the realization that I am a Feminist!

I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one. I am a feminist. A Fem-Nazi as some term it… and I’ve never been prouder of the fact.

There was a time in my past when I always wanted to walk the “mid-path”. You know… not be thought of as being too radical… not being too passive at the same time. The moderate path, where I chose to be and expected the world to do the same. But that, my dear reader, was a fool’s hope. You see, it took some beatings to realize that the world is not going to cut you some slack just because you view the world in a very moderate light. Sure, there are good people and bad people everywhere. But it wasn’t until I chose to break the bondages of an emotionally and verbally abusive marriage that I began to realize, the world views us women in a very harsh light.

Let me explain more in detail here…

In my country, no matter how much we claim to be advanced, there is always this undercurrent that connects our actions to our dark past. And we shrug when encountering it, calling it part of our culture. A culture where women were expected to just bear the brunt of being with abusive people – whether parents or others.  They hailed women to be the givers of life but they never asked if she wanted to. They called her a paragon of virtue while they denied her every right to pleasure. She was to be the mother, friend, lover and advisor of her man but when the final decision was made, she had to acquiesce with nary a murmur. That was the sign of a good woman, they said… One who could be called upon when needed and one who shut up when not.

Women were, and still are treated to be some sort of an abstract idea that is applied to people possessing the right gonads. You’re born a women in my country? Well… you can be all forward thinking and what not but there will always be limitations…. Always!

Before people come up in arms against me, claiming I’m being too harsh and that this is not the moderate’s way of thinking, let me explain.

I've realized that being a moderate is not helping anyone! Not the women who’re being taken for granted… not the men who claim to be victims of “feminism”. Nobody. You’re either with the downtrodden, in their pits, fighting their fight… or you’re against them… oppressing them further with either your indifference or your actions – both equally dangerous.

I have chosen a side. I've chosen the side of the feminist. And this does not mean that I am going to burn my bras or clank my sauce pans in public… please! What is that going to achieve? But let this be marked well… for any injustice that is done against any of my sisters or brothers anywhere in the world, I shall take it as injustice against me. And yes. I did say brothers. That includes the men, for those who’re too shocked to comprehend.

Feminism isn’t about putting men down… it’s about raising women up. It’s not about the supremacy of one gender over the other – it’s about all people being equal. It’s about people being treated as people rather than as some template upon which society has placed values and virtues to suit its taste. It’s about treating everyone as a living, feeling, emoting being and giving the due respect. And if that makes me a Fem-Nazi, bring it on!!!