Feminism, as a contentious topic, has a long history, which is nothing new for modern people. Since the first enlightenment in the late 16 century, many women fought for their right, broke cultural bias and social regulation, and established NOW( National Organization for Women ) to struggle for gender equality. Females’ worthwhile endeavors have lasted for almost 4 centuries and it may continue in the future in order to ensure that each woman in the world can achieve basic rights and gender equality. Many people believe that feminism is a thing of the past and we don’t need it anymore because some countries have achieved the gender equality in some extent and females have the right to vote. So, why is the feminist movement still prevailing
Females suffer from discrimination concerning many aspects, including few opportunities to receive education, the bias and restrictions due to culture and customs, the high rate of infanticides on girls, and the responsibility for rape cases.
First and foremost, girls are usually unable to receive enough education, especially in some poor and isolated regions, they are even not allowed to go to school. In India and some special regions, children as young as six years old are forced to get married by their parents or family. These girls don’t have the opportunity to receive education and have to spend their lifetime being controlled by their so-called husbands. Girls who refuse to marry are frequently beaten, imprisoned or
For example, Female genital mutilation in India. “Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”(World Health Organization) Women who undergo the procedure are put at massive risk of infection and infertility, as well as the extreme pain that comes from the surgery without anesthetic. But, why do people do it and why they’ve remained this tradition for centuries? The answer lies in ancient attitudes toward female sexuality. In some parts of the world, a high value is placed on a bride’s virginity. FGM destroys the victim’s ability to derive pleasure from sex while also making it highly-painful, ensuring that virginity remains intact. “An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone this miserable treatment and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone.”（Feldman-Jacobs, Clifton） On the other hand, From secular society’s point of view, females should devote themselves to family, which makes them more isolated from the real world. Because of the so-called responsibility to family, many females have to give up their job and restrict themselves to their family. Worse more, when some females devote their whole life