International Women’s Day: Do Not Forget
An essay in three parts on the importance of intersectionality this International Women’s Day and why we still need this day, every day.
written by RU Student Life Storytellers Ellen Smith and Zahra Khozema
Part 1: On International Women’s Day
“International Women’s Day.” The fact that we need a day to be internationally acknowledged speaks volumes in itself, so here it goes. I, Zahra, was born on December 6th, aka Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which happens to also be my ultimate feminist hero’s (my mum’s) birthday, in a soon to become all female family household. I also wrote this. So, it’s an understatement to say that I hold women’s rights very close to my heart.
I would first like to acknowledge the readers who have “feminazi” sitting at the tips of their tongues. You, more than anyone need to hear this: today is not about shoving feminist values down your throats. Today alone will not erase decades of prejudice and institutionalized violence against women. Instead, think of today as a celebration of all women. A pledge, if you will, agreeing to respect all kinds of women as equals. And when I say “all kinds” I really mean it because like feminism, women come in all shapes and sizes. It’s important to recognize that White/western cis-feminism is that raisin in my chocolate chip cookie: completely untrustworthy, not to mention, it gives all the other delicious cookies a bad rep.
Right before entering the RSLC to write this article, I was approached by a guy who interrupted my Beyoncé soundtrack by asking me to “help support oppressed women in third world countries.” So, of course the first thing I did was laugh. Now, I give him credit for speaking about an important issue to on-the-go students, but he got it all wrong. Not all women in third world countries are oppressed. Believe me, there are worse things than Saudi Arabian women not being able to drive in their country (his example of oppressed women), which, FYI, is NOT even a third world country. Moreover, “third world” does not mean oppressed, and “first world” does NOT mean equality.
While it’s easy to be fooled into thinking that North American countries are far more “advanced” in terms of human rights, it’s important to remember that our old friend which we love to hate, the media, plays a massive role in our country’s perception of feminism on a local and global scale. The media continuously portrays the Eastern world as helpless, disadvantaged, and entirely evil, while failing to mention that the same evils occur right in our own backyards.
An example of this media bias occurred on March 5th 2012, when the documentary “India’s Daughter” was released on BBC but banned in India itself. The documentary tells the tale of when Jothi Singh was gang raped by six men on a bus in Delhi. When this happened, women all over the country, I repeat women of colour, protested, and begged for the rights to their bodies, while being systematically condemned as a country by the western world, who had heard of the violence Jothi Singh endured. Tragedies such as these are often plastered all over the news in North America, and while they certainly deserve recognition and action, they often cloud us from seeing the monstrosities being committed by ourselves, and our neighbour, The United States of America, who accounts for the highest reported number of rapes in the world. We prefer to blame the “other” than confront our own rape culture.
We cannot assume that good-old-Canada comes out scotch free in this issue, either. Need an example? A Canadian woman was not allowed to present herself in her hijab at court in our very own country, because a judge said so. Need another? There are over one thousand missing and murdered indigenous women in this country, and our government isn’t doing anything about it. One more? The conviction rate for rapists is only 2- 3%. That means only two or three out of every one hundred rapists spend more than a day in jail. And that’s only the ones that are reported and go to court. Still think our country is more “civilized” than the others?
We need to realize that injustices and gender inequality exist every single day, everywhere. Yes, this includes Canada, and yes, this includes “but-we’re-so-diverse” Toronto, too.
Feminism is, in the simplest of terms, the right to choose. The right to exist free from harm. This includes exercising choice over our body and actions without the constant negative connotations that rich, white, able-bodied, straight, cis-gendered men don’t encounter.
“But I’m not like all men, I’m different.” We know, we understand, we’ve heard this line used time, and time again. We know that not all men want to hurt, or harass us. The point is, that many men do, and those men are responsible for a collective fear of violence and harassment that women and non cis-gendered folks are forced to suffer through on a daily basis. Instead of getting defensive, try to remember the women who are harassed on the streets, the women who are raped, ostracized, and humiliated for expressing their sexuality, and the women who are stripped of their right to choose. Instead of playing the victim card please remember this: historically, and statistically, when women show prejudice towards men, it ends with a broken ego, but when men show prejudice towards women, it ends with broken bones. Women are being beaten and murdered for simply saying “no.” So can you really blame us for assuming the worst? It’s not about you. Not this time. When you react in defence of your gender instead of listening to our stories of harassment and oppression, from everyday sexism to violence, you are contributing to the problem.
“Men who want to be feminists do not need to be given a space in feminism, they need to take the space they have in society and make it feminist”
Part 2: Do Not Forget
Do not forget about the transgendered people of North America. The young boys and girls who are afraid of going to school because they face threats of violence for simply existing in public spaces. The men and women who are being murdered because, collectively we have accepted that ships and countries are “shes” but we are unable to allow a someone the same title because her genetalia may or may not match your ideas of what makes a woman. Is it surprising, then that nearly 50% of transgendered people attempt suicide in their lifetime, only to have their preferred pronouns ignored by the media and sometimes their families after their death?
“‘Feminists’ who exclude trans women basically admit to seeing women as walking vaginas. You know, like misogynists.”
Do not forget about the one in six women who will be raped in their lifetime. The women who are shamed into silence, the women who are ignored, forgotten, and blamed for the evils that were committed against them. I wish that this trailer was a product of a Hollywood horror story, but it is a frighteningly accurate account of what young women across campuses in North America are dealing with.
Do not forget that women locally, and globally, are unable to walk down the streets without their personal space being invaded by men who assault them both verbally and physically on a weekly, if not daily basis. We have been trained at a young age to walk with our heads down, and to ignore any rude, or vile comment that is thrown our way in fear of physical assault, which let me tell you, is not an uncommon occurrence.
Do not forget about this next time someone tells you we don’t need feminism any more.
This is a call to arms. We need a movement of solidarity. No more putting each other down. We need to defend each other against the likes of harassment, homophobia, racism, ableism, classism, and body shaming. We need to stand together, acknowledge our differences and support one another regardless of whatever cookie cutter ideals of representation have led us astray.
Part 3: Why Feminism Is More Than a “Need”
Because they say every seven years, you renew,
Then why do over half of us still find our
Skins blue and bruised?
Because we have been pure 13.7 times since our sisters who
Wrote Xs on ballots and not a gender absence.
Because for them I will not turn myself down
So you can hear your privilege louder
I will not let you again colonize my body.
Because I’ve gathered dust between my dentures
Swallowing your abuse I can finally spit back at you.
Because you plaster my breasts on busses and billboards
But God forbid I ever use them in public for what He gave them for.
Because I am not eligible for respect for not having a father or brother
To mourn my abilities as a mother or a sister.
Because Maren Sanchez said ‘no’ to a promposal
And her killer said no to her life.
Because I am expected to be wearing makeup, but not to much,
Allowed to be successful, but not more than him.
Because showing my shoulders might
Attract the brain in your eyes
I do not “need” feminism
I was born with it.
poem by Zahra Khozema
