Feminism And Gender Equality

Feminism is a movement promoting the equality of women and men in all spheres of society. The feminist movement was aimed to fight for gender equality in the society. There are countless issues on gender inequalities on different settings such as classroom and workplace. Generally, women of all ages and races experience a certain degree of discrimination throughout their life courses. Therefore, feminists argued that male and female should have equal rights in political, economic and social issues (Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum and Carr 2014). It is inevitable that gender equality cannot be achieved without the effort of all parties. The feminist movement has achieved its objectives in several aspects such as the right to vote, right to own property and greater access to education. However, is there really no longer a need for feminism? Have the gains women made in the past few decades enough to compensate for the inequality? The truth is that there are solid evidences

For instance, it is clearly reflected in the case of female genital mutilation (FGM), which is sometimes known as female genital cutting or female circumcision (Bennett 2011). There are some countries like Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Somalia still practice FGM where part of the female genitals is cut or removed for cultural reason. Girls or women who failed to follow the ritual or undergo the procedures are considered disobedient. For example, some claimed that performing FGM is a sign of femininity and a way to prepare a girl for adulthood and marriage. However, culture should not be used as an excuse to disregard gender inequalities. Truthfully, FGM does not have any health benefits and performing such procedures on female genitals would result in injuries and infections. FGM is definitely a solid proof of the presence of gender inequality and more importantly, a violation of the human rights of girls and