I need feminism because…
There is a lot you can fill in that phrase with. I need feminism because I want to have the fair chance of getting my dream job for the right reasons, just like the guy sitting next to me. I want to have the freedom and control of my own health. I need feminism because I want to be able to return to the job market after taking a break to raise my children.
From Roe v. Wade in 1973 to United States v. Morrison (the Supreme Court rule allowing victims to sue rape and domestic violence attackers in federal court), the United States has been inching its way towards staying true to their constitutional words of freedom. Yet, it has not even been a hundred years since the 19th Amendment was born, allowing any sex the right to vote. Even as the United States pushes further down the line of equality, the need for feminism is needed.
If you look up "Feminism" on Urban Dictionary the top three results are:
1. "The movement which seeks to place women above men and trample men into the dirt.."
2. "The biggest disgrace to my gender."
3. "An Ideology that supports that women are superior to men, whether biologically, socially, or mentally.."
As the term keeps getting tossed around in the mud and altered further from its original meaning and purpose, it is important to reflect back on the actual meaning. As defined in Merriam-Webster, feminism is "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes."
Not a single part of this explanation stated that the idea of feminism is meant for the people inside the United States boundaries. The idea of feminism extends bigger than the territory of the States. Saying feminism is achieved and that women have equal rights to men is not what feminism is about. The fight for feminism has nothing to do with how far the United States has grown in their stride to human rights. Feminism is a global fight to ensure that the entire world is getting their humanitarian right to equality. Feminism is not meant to be religion or country based but is a political concept that involves gaining political and social equality for the whole population of the world.
Resting underneath the belly of Saudi Arabia is Yemen, the home of 27.5 million citizens whose average resident is 19 years old. Lost under a cloud of smoke, the country has been living in the darkness of their country's civil war since 2015. According to UNICEF, 22 million of its citizens are in need of humanitarian help, with, on average, the population living on two dollars a day. The country is faced with war, starvation, and lack of resources of safe water.
In the face of war, UNICEF also stated how 2 million Yemeni children are not in school, adding to the already startling number of the country's population who did not receive an education. The average age of a Yemen citizen is 19 years old, so this means in a few years, these school-aged children will reach the average age of a Yemen citizen, being the future of their country with little to no education. Just falling behind Iran, Yemen's illiteracy rate for female's ages 15 and higher was at 75%. To add to this, every 1 in 5 Yemeni girls are married off by the time they turn 15. At 15, instead of what would be considered in the States as their freshman or sophomore year of high school, these girls are married off into a family. This decreases their opportunities to gain an education and have a career.
I need feminism because I want girls worldwide to have an equal chance at an education.
A country facing a society with limited education will find themselves in economic stress, creating tension in their country. A lack of education is further presented in times of conflict leading to schools not receiving the funding needed or families not being able to afford education for their students. A family would then need to choose between themselves to decide who to send to school. In certain households, the male child goes to school, as the female stays behind at home to do housework or is married off.
Feminism expands further than the United States. Making sure women have equal rights worldwide is the start of helping healing countries that have fallen into economic distress and conflict.
