My days of running through the corridors are almost done. Highschool is over, I’m stepping into the real world. With that, comes a sense of responsibility for the bigger world. As I write this article for my biggest platform yet of over 5000 students, parents, and teachers, I felt the pressure to talk on a non-controversial, but a pressing issue. However, the non-controversial part quickly boiled down when I asked myself what do I really care about: feminism. 

Feminism is often misunderstood: it doesn’t mean that women want to be treated as queens, it just means we want to be Equals-- respected on the same level as men. Feminism of the 21st century is often taken the same way as in the 18-1900s: strive to change the culture where females were openly disregarded and were publicly a subject of lesser value. We are above that in most parts of the world. Now, feminism needs to be tackled on the smallest scales: habits, expectations, and rules, but our methods for feminism are still the same as from the olden times. I want to take this opportunity to provide my view on what it really means.

Dear Parents,

I know your little girl is a precious asset that you want to keep safe. However, every second you trap her in a cage, you’re taking away a moment of her life. Providing education to medical school is not empowering her if her passion lies in architecture. Do not pressure her to marry if she isn’t in love just because you want her to be happily married after. Just like me, many girls want new books over new clothes; just like me, many get make up kits as gifts. 

Understand your little girl is growing. Instead of saving for the day you are going to walk her down the aisle, invest it in her ambitions and careers. Simply put, walking down the hallway to our office tagged “CEO” is our equivalent of walking down the aisle daily. We are already fighting society, culture, norms, so don’t make us fight you too.

You love us, but can’t accept us. Over 40% girls in my class were forced to choose their subjects. Almost 20% did not even want to do A level. And many of us had to win a war to choose our own paths. Frankly, I had to fight more at home than with the outside world to be allowed to chose engineering, why? 

Dear Society,

Are you scared? For every step we take forward, you bring us back by four, all for the sake of convention and culture. You’re promoting us in health care, literature, and art -- “traditional women’s fields”. However, only 9% of silicon valley employees and founders are women. I repeat 9%. In diplomacy, crucial positions for representing entire nations, only 16.7% of G20 countries’ diplomats are female; the highest is at about 35% female diplomats for America and Canada. We all know these are some of the two most influential places and fields in our growing world. Are you scared that involving us here will in turn rewrite history? You’ve made conventions in the modern world for us that no one notices: taking care of children is primarily the mother’s work, even when they are fifteen years old; technical work is not for women; she should hide behind her male family member. This is changing, you need to change with it.

Dear Lover,

She can have a higher income than you, it should not hurt your ego unless she explicitly demeans your value. She can ask you to do the dishes, both of you deserve equal TV time. She can come home late from office, both of you have equal rights to build your career. You can offer to make dinner, she wants to eat without cooking too. This is a partnership, not a dictatorship.

The women in your life are not a tool to reduce stress. It's not their duty to provide a warm dinner once you get home, because believe it or not, they have had a rough day too. This isn’t right. Asking your wife/girlfriend to just take care of family and you isn’t just about controlling their responsibilities, but in fact depriving them of their fundamental right as a human being: the right to expression and choice. 

Dear Girls, 

We are strong emotionally and physically. We can even lift furniture in the house, but we are not ambitious enough! Yes, it is also our fault. Let that sink in. We must learn to think long term: more in our goals than relationships, more in passions than school grades, more in developing a personality than following the set rules. The struggle is hard because a minority is fighting, let’s put all hands on deck and bring an end to these conventions. Over the years, it was said that a man has no choice but to succeed, for his family. Let’s make that a formality for us. Let’s pay half the bill when we’re eating with guy friends, let’s take care of our parents financially as we grow up, let’s be ready to debate and hustle our way through meetings, let’s meet equal rights with equal responsibilities. Feminism is a two way process.