Feminism, the word, has a definite negative connotation to it; apparently more than I originally thought, if the “Women Against Feminism” movement has anything to say. This movement shows women, mostly white, mostly twenty-something, holding up signs explaining why they don’t support feminism. According to them, it appears as if “feminists” are people who hate men and believe women to be superior, not people who believe in the equality of the genders. The stereotype and ignorance that leads the “Women Against Feminism” movement is not new, but it is surprising that these women so strongly – so ignorantly, denounce feminism as a movement denigrating men. Perhaps one of the reasons feminism might come off as a movement that hates men is because it so strongly focuses its issues towards women – this isn’t anything feminism needs to apologize for. Men have had voices for centuries. Women, on the other hand, are still looked down upon in some cultures. Even in the U.S., where the feminist movement has its roots, women still have a lot to gain. In India and China, female fetuses are aborted precisely because it is a female in a culture where a son is considered superior. In India, many women think of sexual harassment as a daily part of life. In Saudi Arabia, the government wrongly uses Islam as an excuse for not letting women drive. In Nigeria, schoolgirls were kidnapped because their kidnappers thought women shouldn’t get an education. Yes, it’s obvious from all this that feminism is a movement that hates men. The women who support the “Women Against Feminism” movement mostly live in the U.S., where women have already won many rights. Of course, the U.S. still isn’t the perfect gender equal society, but it has gone a long way. The women who are so against feminism would not have even been allowed to voice their opinions on the matter a century ago. But it’s obvious that women in many countries still need someone to speak up for them, someone to say that women should be protected against rape, someone to say women need education. They need feminists. Feminism isn’t about hating men. It’s about basic respect. It’s about society respecting women as people and not violating their bodies. Feminism is about equality of opportunity between sexes. Women should be educated. Women should not have to fear that someone would violate their bodies against their will. And women still haven’t received this basic human respect in many cultures. How do the women who are “against” feminism look at the horrible rape culture in India and not think to themselves that something needs to be done? Of course, there are people who will argue that a woman’s place is in the home, or taking care of the kids. I won’t deny this. Biologically speaking, women do play a bigger role in raising children than men. A man participates for the first five minutes, while the woman and her body prepare and carry a child in their bodies for nine months and then breastfeed for up to 2 years afterwards. It’s obvious that childbearing and child-raising is skewed in favor of the woman. But if a woman chooses to stay and take care of her kids, a woman who is educated is more likely to raise her kids better. As Brigham Young rightly said, “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman, you educate a generation.” Even the terrorist group in Nigeria that kidnapped those schoolgirls realized how powerful an educated woman could be – it was for this very reason that they kidnapped those schoolgirls. The “Women Against Feminism” movement serves to deny feminism’s use in society while at the same time agreeing with many of feminism’s basic ideals. Perhaps the women supporting this movement should research more about what being a feminist means. It’s not about hating men. It’s about giving women the basic respect they deserve as equal human beings. This article was written by Baaria Chaudhary. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: N/A