"Girls just want to have fun..damental rights" - International Women's day 2019

To all the women out there, to all the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and politicians, to future astronauts or zoo keepers, to future CEOs and performers, to all the girls dreaming of a future that's not dominated by patriarchy, here is an open letter dedicated to you. 

Tomorrow is March 8th which is International Women's day (my favourite day of the year), and it celebrates all the women who have broken society's rules, broken the patriarchy and the stereotypes, fighting not only for them but for every other woman out there. I'd like to celebrate every woman out there who has allowed me to one day be able to vote, to work in an industry once dominated by men, to be able to live an equal life, to have access to education and the same human rights as men, to be something more than a woman who is only capable to cook and clean. It’s days like tomorrow that should remind us all that we shouldn’t have to compete, judge or tear down those among us and instead we should uplift, empower, encourage and support our fellow females, which is exactly what I’m here to do today. There are so many ladies who have shared their wisdom and their advice and made me who I am today. So if you're a girl reading this, I hope you can take a little nugget of this, hold it in your heart for the rest of your life and become whoever the hell you want to be and not for anyone else but yourself. 

I've been a feminist ever since I saw first hand how differently boys and girls get treated, I saw the discrimination and my blood started to boil, I wanted to be treated equally so from that day on my activism for women's rights blossomed. I've been a woman all my life. I’ve also been a human all my life and you’d think that being a human you would be entitled to basic human rights, such as education, voting and having the safety and security of the protection of law but ultimately the right to life. However this isn’t the case globally and nationally, it’s apparent to me that mine and other girls’ human rights change because of our gender. That to put simply is why I am a feminist, not because I’m a girl but because women’s rights are also human rights. If I was a boy, I would still be a feminist, don’t worry I won’t start singing Beyoncé’s “If I were a boy”. But by definition a feminist is someone who supports the movement, belief and ideologies that share the main goal to not only  develop and refine but to initiate, support and or advocate equal rights and opportunities for women socially, politically and culturally as men. There are often many misconceptions that feminists are haters of men, or that they desire to be treated better than men, but that is not the case, we just want to be treated the same.  So if you are someone who claims that you believe in equality… equal rights of human beings dare I say it, you’re a feminist. Yes, you would be part of a group of people that are seen as being ‘aggressive’, ‘toxic’, ‘man-hating’, ‘supporters of female superiority’, and ‘greedy’.

Feminism is also about empowering one another, supporting every female as they have to fight day in day out social prejudice, which sucks, but then you have people trying to tear powerful women down just because they're making a change in this world. Your gender doesn't make you a worse politician, or a terrible singer, just because you're a girl doesn't mean you can't become a CEO or a doctor, just because you're a girl doesn't mean you're any less of a person. So if anyone tells you "You can't do it because you're a girl", smile and prove that misogynist wrong, don't let the archaic rules of society  get in the way of your dreams. Feminism is something I truly love, because one day I believe every mother, daughter, sister could truly live a prejudice free life, that many girls dream of. I too sincerely hope, that every father, son and brother too can live a prejudice free life. However something, must change. Whether it is breaking gender stereotypes, as a consequence where boys don’t fear being seen as weak and sensitive – feminine characteristics and women don’t have to fear being seen as strong and powerful more masculine perceived characteristics. Or maybe we need to view society differently, women not only as domestic goddesses, and men not just bread  winners of the household – where at the moment we value the roles less if the other gender is opposite to its expectation. Both men and women should have the rights to not have to live up to two very different social ideals, if this was the case, perhaps  we wouldn’t be defining men and women in two very different ways. 

I want to thank the suffragettes, who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. 

I want to thank Constance Markievicz, for being the first women to be elected in the houses of parliament. 

I want to thank The Edinburgh Seven who  were the first group of  undergraduate female students at any British university. They began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869 and although they were unsuccessful in their struggle to graduate and qualify as doctors, the campaign they fought gained national attention and it put the rights of women to a University education on the national political agenda which eventually resulted in legislation to ensure that women could study at University in 1877.

I want to thank Sophie Bryant  a feminist and activist who became the first woman in Britain to earn a DSc

I want to thank all these women and so so many more for  breaking social norms and making these things possible for millions of girls around the world to achieve their dreams. If it wasn't for these amazing women, I wouldn't be able to be at school studying and preparing to go to university and hopefully become a trauma doctor, without these women I wouldn't be able to have a voice and vote, without these women I would just be property rather than a human.No country in this world can say they have fully reached gender equality, so join me and millions of other feminists so all the girls who can't go to school, or get married off, or get paid less don't have to face discrimination any longer, let's change the world, let's change people's worlds for the better. So to anyone out there reading this post, you have a voice use it and fight for what you believe in, the more people who stand up fighting the more we're going to be heard. You're not alone in this fight for equality, your opinions matter, and whatever form you decide to use your voice whether it be art, protesting or writing to make a stand, you'll be changing history for your children and your children's children. 

"What's the point of having a voice if you're going to be silent?" - Angie Thomas