Priya Saha | Staff Writer
Featured image: Men and women need to join hands to achieve true equality for all. | Cedric Wong
Feminism is an age-old movement that seems to get younger by the day, courtesy of renewed enthusiastic involvement from people of all genders and walks of life. The feminist movement has historically been associated with female advocates and supporters. However, we seem to forget that men have also made significant contributions to the cause and continue to do so.
Feminism is the collective struggle for equality, advocating that one gender is not inferior to the other. There is a common misunderstanding and misinterpretation by individuals that feminists think that in order for women to attain economic, social, political, cultural and educational rights, men must lose some of their power. This is contrary to the motives of feminists, who believe that liberation for women is liberation for all.
In the past, this movement had an emphasis on suffrage, meaning that women wanted to attain equal rights to vote. They also wanted to acquire legal rights, such as women being able to obtain a divorce. The movement has, since then, progressed to focus on reproductive rights, domestic violence, sexual violence, equal pay and maternity leave.
Men have actively supported this movement in the past because they have witnessed the discrimination and subordination of women firsthand.
Raja Rammohan Roy, an 18th-century Indian intellectual and reformer, was a diligent supporter of the emancipation of women.
Roy protested the Hindu custom of sati, which dictated that when a woman’s husband passed away she would be burnt alive on his funeral pyre. He had witnessed the sati of his younger sister-in-law and was not able to do anything to change the values of his family.
His protests were successful, and sati was abolished in 1829 by the Governor General of India.
Jeremy Bentham was an 18th-century English philosopher and jurist who demonstrated his support for women having political freedom and personal freedom.
Bentham argued that women should be given the right to vote, as well as to be allowed to participate in the legislative and executive branches of government. He was against the popular notion during his time that the minds of women are inferior to the minds of men.
Bentham’s work influenced the thinking and writing of John Stuart Mill, a 19th-century British philosopher.
Mill advocated for legal and social equality for women, who were living as second-class citizens as a result of the laws and customs of a patriarchal society.
He wholeheartedly believed that by undermining women and subordinating them, society was devoid of their abilities and strong contributions.
In order for society to progress, men and women should be granted an equal opportunity to do as they pleased, as long as it did not impose a threat upon other members of society.
Men have showcased that they are also aware of the issues and struggles pertaining to women and that they comprehend the significance of not considering one gender to be inferior to another. This is significant because in order for women to gain emancipation, the dominating gender must be aware of the struggles women encounter and must express their solidarity and support.
According to Pew Research Centre, 94 per cent of men in Canada support the notion of gender equality. As times change, the patriarchal pillars of society are beginning to crumble and people are beginning to recognize that each individual has their own capabilities and deserves equal opportunities and rights.
