What Feminism is about for me (10) When will feminism no longer be needed?


Helene Lange, a Women’s Rights activist and politician, who campaigned for equal rights to education and professions for girls in Germany lived from 1848 to1930. She hoped that women and men would one day be treated equally and said in 1904, „When the final goal of the women’s movement will have been reached, there will no longer be a dominant gender, but only leading personalities.”[1]

Studies show that countries in which women play an important role in society are the most economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Without equality and inclusion of all genders in decisions, the problems of this world cannot be solved.

In my Finnish mother tongue, there are no gendered pronouns like “he” and “she.” There is only one word: “hän” for people and “se” for things. Even nouns have no gender. One does not differentiate occupational titles, whether the person is male or female—they are all described with the same word. Maybe that has also had an impact on the sociological development of the people, because you need not have the preconceived idea that, for example, a judge, doctor, or pastor must be a man. Everyone could become what “hän” (he or she) wanted.

And yet, there is not a single country in the world where complete equality has been achieved. Progress has been made, but we have not yet reached what Helene Lange and so many other activists hoped for. We still need activists and organizations that promote gender equality, and above all, legislation following human rights. Education is the basis for understanding and respect, and gender equality should be taught in all educational institutions.

Speaking at a private event on leadership in Singapore in December 2019, Barack Obama said, that while in office he had mused what a world run by women would look like.

"Now women, I just want you to know; you are not perfect, but what I can say pretty indisputably is that you're better than us [men]. I'm absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything... living standards and outcomes." He continued, "If you look at the world and look at the problems it's usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way."[2]

Nadav Tamir wrote in The Times of Israel on January 18, 2021, why Israel now needs female leadership:

“Most of the arguments about integrating women into politics and public life in general focus on the issue of equality and affirmative action. When the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, was asked why he put together a gender-equalized government, he replied: “We are living in 2015.” When the late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was asked how many women should serve on the Supreme Court, she replied, “Nine,” clarifying that if for many years nine men held office, then there was nothing to prevent nine women from doing the same. Nonetheless, the need for promoting female leadership goes well beyond the issue of equality”.[3]

 

Anyone who has followed what is happening in the world will notice that one of the lessons from the coronavirus crisis is that countries with female leadership, such as Germany, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, and Taiwan, as well as others, have performed much better. Feminism will no longer be necessary when the best people are in charge, be they men or women.

Danish Crown Princess Mary

On March 8, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark posted on Facebook:[4]

“For breakfast this morning my youngest daughter Josephine spotted a headline that it was International Women's Day. She asked, ′′ What kind of day is this?". I thought briefly about my answer and said that for her it is a day to believe and trust that she can become and do anything she can do dreaming about without anyone or anything stopping her because of her being a girl.

She didn't ask any further questions, so maybe my answer wasn't a surprise to her. Maybe this is something she takes for granted But it's not like that for many other girls around the world. And the International Women's Day has different significance depending on where in the world you live. But no matter where you live, it's an important day where we're not only talking about how far we've come, but also where we've come from and where we want to go.

For me, equality is not about everyone being the same, but - as I told Josephine - about gender not being allowed to play a role when opportunities present themselves and decisions are being made or when you follow your dreams.”

That is what feminism means for me, too.


Photo: Free Photo at Pixabay

[1] Helene Lange, 1928. Kampfzeiten: Aufsätze und Reden aus vier Jahrzehnten. Berlin: Herbig. S. 307

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50805822

[3] bit.ly/3gYoozx

[4] https://www.facebook.com/detdanskekongehus/

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