The Sun radiates its warmth over my bookshelf, over me, and over my world. I wake up at 7 am on weekdays. Looking out of the window, I inhale deeply. I sip my coffee and grab a bite of my breakfast. I get ready for school and leave the hostel. Along the alley, people are exchanging gossip, laughing, shouting, eating, walking, and sitting. As I walk, my mind is occupied with thoughts like - did I finish my homework? What classes do we have?
Duh... I wish we didn`t have science class today!
Suddenly, a foreign voice appears from behind interrupts all of my thoughts.
"Hey! You are the feminist girl from (.....) school?"
I turn my face towards the stranger and nod affably although deep down, I hate having to meet people who come with such question.
"Yes, Hi! And how do you know that?"? I ask.
"Oh, I am a stalker." she begins.
"I stalked your Facebook profile, plus I heard people talking about you being so outspoken and deviant, is that true? Also, I happen to be one of your seniors!"
From the tone of her voice, I know that something more is coming. She maintains a smile as she speaks. Despite the intrusion, I am pleased by her smile and charming aura.
"You know, I don`t understand why you claim to be a feminist. I mean, I am more like a humanist and am concerned about every human being. But you, why do you believe in Feminism? I feel like Feminism is full of women`s empowerment thing, which supports women in achieving their dreams."
Surprised by her question, I rapidly examine,
"I guess, we are moving forward to achieve the common goal.? Don`t you think? "
She goes, "No, I am under the impression that feminism means 'females rule' and hence never supported it. Whenever I try to have a conversation with the so-called feminists, they tend to be aggressive and defensive. I don`t know but I just don`t like how feminists scream so much and then actually do very little. They just don`t do anything to improve the situation."
It had not occurred to me that a person, who had graduated from the same school that I am attending, would have entirely different opinions about Feminism. I can tell, from her distribution of opinions, she only sees Feminism as "better rights for women only", not its definition "equal rights for ALL genders." She reveals her notions of feminism like many other people I have met before and it is not new to me. However, I become unreasonably frustrated and annoyed.
I want to tell her that Feminism has a deeper meaning to itself. Women have been treated as property, disenfranchised and taken like crap throughout most of history. So, women naturally (as self-interested beings), wish for a better life. It makes complete sense for feminism to exist. And "feminist" is not a dirty word.
Despite the storm, no words come out of my mouth. I am feeling a lot of things, yet unable to speak even a word. I stare at her for a while until she says she is late for work.
"We will continue this conversation later." I quickly add to erase the awkwardness of my silence. We shake hands and she leaves.
I continue my walk to school thinking about the conversation we just had. I cannot imagine how many people have the same notions on Feminism as the girl does. It bothers me very much to learn that most of those people are the so-called "educated" people who have the know-it-all-attitude.
I realize, as a feminist, it is the time for me to do something to remove the misconception people have about Feminism. I have two options- to sit down and piss off everyone who have different points of views or to do something productive and change their perspectives. I choose the second method to approach the problem of misconception. I truly believe that every single problem we face can be solved by changing one's perspective. After understanding what it means, it is an individual choice - whether the person wants to be a feminist or not.
At first, I think to myself about how I learned all about Feminism. My understanding of Feminism was discovered and developed by reading books, particularly reading stories of women and men, who are suffering from gender discrimination. Hence, I decided to write stories about me and people around me, especially on women.
Writing is a tool for me to offer my understanding of feminism. In other words, writing gives me, and many other feminists, a voice. After reading stories, many people I know have shifted their misconception on Feminism. For me, even if one person starts to think and act differently after reading what I write, is change. Change is within us. But some of us accept it and some, like the girl I met on the street, don`t. Society will take time to understand. Even the humanist girl would embrace the truth, once she discovers it.
One day, if I have the chance, I want to meet and tell the humanist girl that Feminism, like humanism, aims to create the egalitarian world where all human beings are treated with respect. Thereby, she, too, is a feminist.