A CALL TO FEMINISM

In the past I had always been against feminism especially the way it was been described by a lot of feminists. They were bitter, hostile and irreligious. I did not want to be like them because I'm a sucker for love stories. I believe in fairy tales and I am blessed with a good man. I envisage a good marriage and could not understand why a lot of women were agitated and not happy.

I reflected on the past and then it was easy for me to understand what feminists were often angry about and why feminism (without going to the extreme) is necessary going forward in our world today.

I have had experiences with guys (call them my suitors) which should have opened my eyes to the reality of a lot of relationships. But I was too young to understand. My love for love often blinded me to the flaws of these guys who were around me at that time. And if I had made the mistake of marrying any of them, I would have been miserable and who knows, maybe I would have also been angry and bitter.

Based on experience, I can say confidently that some men are sick. There are men who believe that their wives or relationship partners should never insult them and that they have a right to beat up any woman attached to them who does so.  I went to a federal government college for high school and when someone offends us then, to express our anger, we would say things like "are you mad, are you stupid?" I got used to saying that and it stuck. During my youth service, I met a guy who said he was interested in me. And oftentimes jokingly I would say such things to him whenever he cracked a joke I did not approve of. And then his countenance would change, he would tell me visibly angrily that he would slap his wife or 'girlfriend' who ever told him such. Common sense should have told me that this guy was dangerous but as I did not have too many friends then, I was just grateful to have someone I could call a 'friend'. This continued for a while until naturally the friendship wore off ( we did not have the same values and so it was impossible for me to be unequally yoked). He was also very stingy and greedy, amongst many more of his undesirable qualities.

This is just an example of the many people walking about in trousers calling themselves men and looking for wives to marry. Please run for your dear life if you ever meet such.  So it is true; there is a need for feminism. Some men need to be taught that they do not have a right to beat up a woman no matter the level of provocation.

Let me define feminism as equal opportunities for both men and women, the right for women to be promoted meritoriously, the right not to physically, emotionally, sexually, verbally and mentally abused. A safe environment for both boys and girls to grow up in, no preference for a male child and a right to worship God with sincerity. This is my own definition of feminism. What is yours?