Feminism

A few years ago I did not identify as a feminist, in fact if someone said they were a feminist I would just roll my eyes and keep it moving. I would always say to myself feminists will never be in a productive relationship with the opposite sex because you are too vocal about unnecessary things and I thought to myself I would like to settle down one day, I don't want to alienate my future husband.

But as I have grown I realized feminism means something different for me and that something is an issue that's very close to my heart. For me feminism is about inspiring women to do more for themselves as opposed to the many roles that society imposes upon them. When I was growing up there were no women in the corporate world (in fact most women were wives and mothers before they were anything else), women were either teachers or nurses and if they were in the corporate world it was as a receptionist, personal assistant or a cleaner. It was as if the world had designated jobs just for women and these jobs that were designated for us were not exactly prominent positions. 

In this day and age we still have young girls who grow up and aspire to be married, we have girls who finish their education at 16 and 18 and to them the next step is getting a husband and birthing a child that they can hardly take care of and at the end of the day most women are thrust into poverty and abusive relationships because they cannot stand on their own feet. Girls and women lack the confidence to stand and face life on their own, they are afraid of independence but to me independence does not mean not being in a relationship or not being married, to me independence means taking care of you first before you can get into marriage. I believe marriage will move along smoothly if you get into it prepared. 

I am here to remind young women that marriage and motherhood can always come later, get educated, education gives you freedom to pursue your dreams, education gives you somewhere to begin in terms of career, it broadens your mind, you see things from a different perspective and you begin to want more in your life. So my fellow young women and those that are coming way after me please want more for yourselves , build yourselves up because no one will do it for you, my heart's earnest desire is to see more women in management positions , influencing politics and making history.

We are coming to the end of women's month and they are a few women who inspire me on a day to day basis. Firstly my mom is a person who never ceases to amaze me. And she is why I relentlessly pursue my dreams because she did not let her situation define her. She birthed me at a very young age with almost nothing to her name and years later she is sitting in a management position at a reputable organization. I salute this woman for working hard and doing well for herself and I thank God that he chose her as a mother for me.

 Maya Angelou,I live try to live by this woman's teachings daily, author, motivational speaker and child of God. Her poem still I rise is my life mantra. It reminds me that I will face a lot challenges but I need to rise above them, such a phenomenal woman.

  Lastly Chimamanda Adichie, Famous women's right activist. She is the first feminist I could relate to especially when she said girls are expected to aspire to  marriage while boys are not expected to do the same, which is true from a young age girls dream about finding a perfect husband why is it not the same for young boys. She has taught me some really valuable lessons that I treasure.

My sincere wish is to see women do more for themselves and I hope someone finds this article inspiring.