The Pros And Cons Of Feminism

Anuka Pokharel

Feminists - are they wrong to take feminism too far?

Are they taking feminism too far at all?

There is a discourse that has been recurrent in the past few decades which had rarely been discussed before. People talk about whether or not feminists who speak up against the discrimination against women are exaggerating the extent to which women are disadvantaged in today’s world. They argue so, I’ve noticed, because in today’s world, more and more women are getting greater opportunities compared to men. More and more women are succeeding while there is a notion that the male population is underachieving. More and more women seem to have advantages over men: for example, in a micro in Kathmandu city women get 2 “mahila seats” reserved for just them while men, in fact, have to stand up. Also, almost everywhere in the world women now get quotas for jobs while men have zero reserved seats. There is an impression that today, in the 21st century, men are increasingly at disadvantage because they’re male rather than the

But, one very important thing to note is that feminism is not about downgrading masculinity. Many critics of feminism don’t understand feminism and its goals itself. Dictionary.com defines feminism as advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. Merriam-Webster defines it as the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Oxford dictionary defines it as the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. One thing that is common for all definitions is that feminism doesn’t advocate the perception that women should be superior to men. It doesn’t plead for women to have all privileges which even men don’t seem to have. Men underachieving or men bowing down to women is not at all what feminists fight for.

All it asks for, and all feminism stands for is equality. Equality and change for the sake of women: is that too much to ask