Schrödinger’s Feminist: Feminism in the Global Perspective

I am a global feminist. There is no other way of saying it. I am a global feminist, and I am proud, despite the odd looks and snide remarks that people give me when I state this fact. I live in a country and a world where women are still treated as objects and status symbols, where a woman who takes charge is a shrew. Women who think above their position are punished, any woman who has an online presence opens herself up to threats ranging from sexual assault to death. We teach our girls how to carry their keys between their fingers to defend themselves; we teach them to pull their hoods up at night and to never walk home alone.

Yet in many countries, these problems are just scratching the surface. In other countries, girls have to fight tooth and nail just to get an education. Girls like Malala Yousafzai risk violent retaliation from extremist groups in their countries just for trying to go to school, and many do not survive. Education and equality are far off concepts that are worth dying for. The problems of American feminists are of little consequence when you are trying to learn how to read without being gunned down in the street for it.

And still, so many people refuse to adopt the label of feminist. Saying that they are for equality, not feminism. What they do not realize is that those two words mean the same thing. The negative connotations that go along with modern feminism come largely from the middle class American feminist movement, and this is what causes people to balk at the idea of being tied to such a label. This movement emphasizes the tired role of the woman victim and refuses to focus on any other type of sexism in the world.

Feminism must move forward in order for global change to even be a possibility. In America, especially, we have to realize that feminism is not just about shouting our discontent with how we are treated in the workplace. We must instead work to change things, not only on a domestic scale, but on a global scale as well. Feminism is not exclusive to white middle class women. Feminism is not for the privileged. Feminism, by definition is inclusive, and the western world in particular has to recognize that not all women have money, that not all women are in a position to take a stand, that not all women can get an education, and that not all women are considered women by society. Women’s rights are fundamental. They are human rights, and we have to make sure that we can expand our thoughts beyond our own backyards.

Before we can change anything, we have to forget imperialism and nationalism and remember that the domestic fight is only half the battle, and that global feminism has a long way to go. Now is the time to return to a dialogue of activism. We must fight for the women of the world, whether they are native to our own countries or not. Now is the time to strike hard and fast for the sake of all women, not just the privileged few.