There has been an uprising in recent months:  men and women have been joining together to change the world. This movement is trying to bring equal rights to both genders.

The movement has a title: Feminism.

Many people believe that feminism is just a fancy word for females to increase their social, political, and social stature, but this movement was created in order to put females on the same playing field as males. Therefore, feminism is synonymous to gender equality.
“Feminism to me means equality for men and women in the workplace and the world in general.” Government teacher, Angela Gardner, shared, “We should all learn to respect the strengths of our counterparts on this planet.”

In many cultures, men have always had more power than women. They have owned more property; had more civil liberties; and have been socially more acceptable.

According to tavaana.org, since the 1960’s, feminists – men and women fighting for equal rights – have taken a stand against the oppression of women. Feminism is no longer something the world can ignore, it has become a fight for gender equality, not just women’s rights.

Skeptics believe that women have always been equal to their opposing gender, but for centuries, women have been treated as the lesser.

According to Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, between the years of 1700-1800, when a woman married, she gave up her name and her property. Later, between the years of 1800-1900, women were finally allowed to vote and own land – but only in certain states. Still in those years, men owned women, solely lead the nation, and treated females as the lesser sex. It was obvious that the fight for equality was no where near the end.

Fast-forward 80 years and women are still being oppressed.

In Iran, women who appear unveiled have the penalty of going to prison for up to 12 months. It is common for women to be sexual assaulted, publicly ridiculed, or abused because of their gender.

There are plenty of people who are fighting for equal rights on a global and local scale. For example, Malala Yousafzai – a teenage girl from Pakistan – demanded education for women against the Taliban but was shot in the head, in 2012 because of her request. After months of recovery, Yousafzai was on her feet once again and because of her work of supporting girls in six different countries and raising over 3.5 million dollars, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (malala.org). Another example is the HeForShe Campaign, a campaign for gender equality, which was initiated by UN Women. Celebrity Emma Watson gave a speech in 2014 advocating for this campaign, stating that the fight for gender equality involves both men and women (unwomen.org).

On the local scale, there are plenty of people at Perry who identify as feminists. Freshman, Trinity Kaufman, is the first female to be on the school’s football team.

“[The guys] treated me differently at first,” Kaufman shared, “but we all warmed up to one another and they started treating me like any other player.” Kaufman soon hopes to see a shift in the status quo.

People like Yousafzai, Watson, and Kaufman are creating a more equal world. This movement has spread across the globe and will continue to gain popularity. It is everybody’s responsibility to fight for gender equality. Feminism is not a fight against men. Feminism is not a fight to make women the superior gender. Feminism is the fight for gender equality.