I‘ve been asked feminism many times before. And I feel the need to talk about it. It’s taken me a long time to use the label and call myself a feminist. The label itself comes with a strong legacy and negativity. But more recently, I think that’s okay, because no matter what identity I assume, someone out there will find a way to stereotype me.

We like taking the easy route and simplifying things in order to make ourselves feel better. How you typecast me says more about you than me. Feminism is not a static, smelly lake. It’s an evolving river. We learn and try again. The world is not equal for anyone, but we strive for it, because that’s what hope is.

Illustration inspired by Persepolis

Here’s some essential reading on feminism

• Talking to boys like we talk to girls
• Misogyny is not limited to men
• All religions are misogynist

And here are some smart Women talking about feminism in our worlds:

The enemy of democracy isn’t one person. The enemy of democracy is patriarchal culture. As with the Family, where the father of the family decides and has the last word, so a dictator is the father of the nation. If we have more educated women, then we have more educated societies. This is without any “feminist prejudice”—it’s fact. – Marjane Satrapi

Let it be understood forever – all religions are misogynistic and man-made, from an evolutionary and anthropological view always serving men and their patriarchy except for some matriarchal Polynesian or tribal societies. Divine laws are never going to grant the Human Rights that are due to all, not just upper-class, Sunni, men who claim lineage from the Prophet’s family. Secular laws are the ones which will provide for women, and keep the interests of the minorities at heart. – Arshia Malik

Masculine and Feminine – Yin and Yang, is all fine. A woman is a human being first – and nobody should forget that, and she can also have a desire to use her brains and skills and contribute outside the home, just like a man. Also, whether we like it or not, economic dependence is one of the main reasons of subjugation. In this day and age “feminine” shouldn’t necessarily mean what it meant 50 years ago.-  Samie Katch on this atrocious sermon by a man mansplaining feminism to an ignorant actress.

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