People in our country seem to be confused about feminism — they think it's no longer needed. Why are woman calling for change ? We can vote , yes. No longer are women considered the property of their husbands (at least in our country, in many other countries women are still considered to be owned by their husbands), woman can now file for divorce and so on and so on , and while that is a great change from how things were some years ago (may it be noted these changes came about from woman fighting for equality a.k.a feminists) there is still a great need to call for equality for both genders.

The world still needs feminism because instead of people learning how to not objectify women ,girls are taught how to escape an attacker and try to prevent rape. Women are taught to never walk alone, to be aware of your surroundings at all times and always check your car before you get in. And don’t forget to cover yourself up because otherwise you were “asking for it” if you do happen to get sexually assaulted — which about 1 in 4 women do get sexually assaulted.

We still need feminism because on average there is still a 23% (larger in some states) gender pay gap. Not only that, a man is typically more likely to receive a promotion over an equally qualified female- or to get the job in the first place. We still need feminism because many companies do not offer maternity leave — we still need feminism because women are put to shame for breastfeeding in public even when you can see just as much cleavage on any ad you may see in the mall or on Youtube.

We still need feminism because women are much more likely to be talked over in a conversation than men. And because it’s assumed if you're pretty you're probably not that competent. We still need feminism because women are often slut-shamed while men are considered studs and players.

Also, don’t forget that approximately 29 countries still practice Female Genital Mutilation - the act of forcefully cutting of the external female genitals. We still need feminism because many counties still have child brides - some of these “brides" can be as young as 4 years old — and because about 120 countries don’t have any sort of laws against marital rape.

We still need feminism because in many countries women are not allowed to go to school and get an education. We still need feminism because the word feminism still scares people.

To be a feminist is not to be some sort of radical man-hating person. To be a feminist does not imply that you think women are better than men and deserve special treatment . To be a feminist is simply to say “Hey, woman are people too” and to treat them accordingly.