Half The Sky: Turning Opportunity For Women World Wide

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” I think it is important to acknowledge the fact that everybody can have their own definition of what feminism means. I believe that feminism means that your gender doesn't have to define who you are — you can be whatever you want to be, whoever you want to be, regardless of your gender. My definition of being a feminist is a person who believes in the power of women just as much as they believe in the power of anyone else. However, there are people who strongly disagree with feminism because of the negative connotations they believe are associated with it. The stereotypes feminists often face

Throughout the documentary, I became more aware of how women of color have historically been objectified and exploited for cultural, economic, and political gain. I became increasingly attentive of the division created between the privileged Western world and the oppressed women worldwide. It is very important to be conscientious of the gender based violence that occurs in countries such as Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and Somaliland. However, the issue I felt impacted me the most was education in Vietnam. I feel that I could relate to the girls in the documentary because education is not only important to me, but to my family. My grandparents and parents grew up in Vietnam where they had to face the struggle of not being able to go to school. When they were given the opportunity to go to school, they had to travel at the crack of dawn to get to school in time. Although education was crucial and important, family needs came first. Most of my grandparents stopped going to school after the fifth grade and both of my parents finished high school and never moved on to college. They had to give up their dreams of becoming successful to provide for their family. As a result, my parents always

It’s a language that understands oppression in its many forms is rooted in gender-based inequality. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche said, “The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are.” This quote is significant because Chimamanda expresses the idea of how society would be able to express their individuality and happiness if we did not have gender roles. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing our true selves rather than focusing on how the norms of society perceives us. Chimamanda makes an inspiring point with the quote, “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man.” The message from this quote is that women and girls are oppressed because their confidence and talents would intimidate men. We should never have to stoop down so men can undermine our abilities. The quote, “Some men feel threatened by the idea of feminism. This comes, I think, from the insecurity triggered by how boys are brought up, and how their self-worth is diminished if they are not “naturally” in charge of men,” conveys the idea that men are afraid of feminism because of the way they were brought up. Society portrays men to be the dominant figures in society. Men are the providers for the family, whereas women are the housewives. However,