Do It Like A Dude

I have been wondering what to write about this week until a forward in a group chat caught my eye. A male friend of mine had posted a poem about the kind of girlfriend he desired and boy was he specific! Starting from her height, weight and skin tone to her likes, dislikes, talents and hobbies, he specified every single detail of his notion of the perfect girlfriend; and giving him a befitting reply awakened the feminist in me.

I believe every woman is a feminist at heart. But feminism, according to me, isn't just a female issue. For example, whenever there is a discussion of racism, most “white” people turn a deaf ear to it imagining it’s not about them, when in reality they are the very reason racism exists. Similarly, feminism isn't just about women but also about men. How men treat women, support their causes, stand beside them, respect them and so on, is in fact the proof of a man’s true strength. Men are by default physically stronger than women. Desperately trying to prove it only establishes their immaturity and incapacity. Men are not meant to rule over the world, neither are women. Instead, men – women and others are supposed to coexist peacefully as equals.

In my short life and limited experience I haven't ever been the victim of gender inequality, except when I'm travelling alone. I'm pretty sure men do not have to worry about things like pepper spray or random strangers elbowing them in the chest on crowded roads, or lechers pressing against them from behind on crowded buses and metros, or perverts flashing at them. Women shouldn't have to constantly worry about these things either. But are we left with a choice? Some of the times when I have objected to such misbehaviour, co passengers have turned against me calling me a liar. Rest of the times they watched silently as I argued and insulted my tormentor. But never ever has anyone come to my rescue! I shouldn't have to worry about my safety every time I step out.

At times it feels like gender equality is just a female fantasy that will come true the day pigs fly. Can a woman ever be entirely safe? I know I sound really clichéd but whatever I wrote, I wrote from experience and although it has absolutely no relation with the introduction of this specific post, this is something I have wanted to express from a very long time. Every woman is a feminist, there's nothing unusual about that! What we need are more and more male feminists and only then equality can be achieved.