Feminism to me
Rania Ivala
As a woman, who grows up in a small country in Africa, Feminism was a western concept. I was raised to please the world around me. Taking care of my brothers, cleaning the house, being polite, never too loud, always smiling, support everything and everyone cause that’s what a woman do, that’s the true essence of a woman. The sister of my brothers, the daughter of my dad, these were my only identities. I wanted to scream, to run away. My mom did it for me, she threw everything on the floor an unfair marriage, an oppressive life as the mom of, the wife of, the sister of. And then, it hit me for the first time. Feminism is not a far concept, it’s a way of life and it’s gonna be my way of life.
As a woman of today, I don’t only stand as myself, I’m also thousands of lives before me, screaming to breath, fighting to exist, I’m resilient, I’m strong, I’m smart, I’m loving, I still exist after centuries of trying to make me disappear. I’m an army by myself, and this army won battles than no one can understand, than no one can think of.
This is feminism to me, a woman who is herself, unapologetically, doing what she likes without judgment, working where she wants fairly, going where she wants without fear. Feminism is letting women be where they are supposed to be and this place is everywhere they choose it to be.
