see these are just some of the many
words that haunt women like me who dare
to stand up for ourselves and our gender
in short these words are often used to
describe feminists so what is feminism
feminism according to the dictionary is
the theory of the political economic and
social equality of the sexes and that
sounds like a pretty reasonable thing
doesn’t it you know equality but
unfortunately many people have you
feminists as women who just want
attention or women making up issues that
don’t really exist this is not true
first of all you don’t have to be a
woman to be feminist take for example
Barack Obama who defines himself as a
feminist and treats his wife and
daughters with the utmost respect second
these issues are real driving the wage
gap and many other things are huge
inequalities globally and even a serious
and awful problem like rape is still
happening according to in some countries
such as Saudi Arabia women aren’t
allowed to drive on property or even
uncover their faces and in Yemen women
only count as half of a witness before
the court according to the National
Partnership for women and families as of
October 2016 women earned 80 cents for
every dollar man earned and rape caused
two million injuries in 1,200 deaths per
year among women in the US alone
according to UN Women org two thirds of
the illiterate population is female
which brings me to a perpetuating
standard the standard of it could always
be worse first world feminists in
countries like America and the UK are
told that they don’t need to fight
because because at least they don’t live
in Iraq women in Iraq who who are not
allowed to be out in public without
hijab or head covering are told that
they don’t need to fight because at
least they don’t live in a country like
Saudi Arabia women in urban areas of
Saudi Arabia who legally cannot drive
are told to feel lucky that they don’t
live in a rural area women
in these rural areas who are punished
because they were raped
we’re told that they don’t need to fight
because at least they’re not a part of
neighboring family who killed a daughter
because she looked at a man just because
someone hasn’t worse than you do doesn’t
mean that you should be content when I
turned 16 yes I will be lucky enough to
be able to drive but I might be unlucky
and only make 80 cents for every dollar
that my male classmates earn when you
have a say at home dad stays at home
with his kids while the mother works
Society says that this is unusual and
provides him with extra help and extra
praise from the community when a woman
does the same thing she gets no help no
praise and she is seen as you know just
a regular stay-at-home mom
the idea of stay-at-home fathers with
working mothers needs to be normalized
why because if we can normalize that
then women can start to have more
high-powered jobs and be recognized for
the mark they make on this ever turning
world just as men are recognized from a
young age I have been aware of very
strong female role models in my life
take for example my mother who worked in
a nonprofit organization called girls
Inc which worked to empower young girls
and provide them with opportunities
within their communities or her mother
who is who is part of one of the first
graduates graduating classes to include
women at Harvard Law and was one of five
women in her class for my paternal
grandmother who taught at Yale in the
literature Department because no matter
how qualified she was women were not
allowed to teach science at Yale at that
time at the camp that I’ve been going to
since I was 10 we learned the value of
the female gender in our community and
how to maximize our potential as women
in January I drove five hours to
Washington DC to participate in the
women’s march on Washington I was
inspired by the crowds I saw I was
uplifted by the chanting I heard and I
saw amazing
with amazing messages held by wonderful
people because our cause will not be
sent to the ground when you follow me in
the halls and say feminism to see if
I’ll turn around I’m insulted but I’m
also empowered I’m empowered so that I
can create a world where feminists
aren’t crazy mean nasty women and where
women can have any job they want and be
welcomed with open arms into whatever
field they choose because it’s not weird
or strange for women to have that job so
what is in the future the first thing
that needs to happen is the dissolving
of the belief that feminism is the
belief that women are better than men
because that’s not what feminism is the
belief that women are better than men is
called misandry
I believe that with hard work we can
change the world and we have the power
to do it so this is the message that I
want you to leave this room with today
for women don’t stand up to
discrimination go out and take that non
feminine class that you weren’t going to
take because it’s not girlie enough
though because none of your friends are
in it get that job and you don’t have to
conform to X victim of
have a higher paying job as you’re part
have a higher paying job than your
partner you can choose accept your
freedom as a woman to choose and for
everyone
hire women for jobs done only by men in
the past they have kids they don’t have
kids
don’t let that matter and don’t worry
about tearing the social fabric because
if you do you can just stitch it up with
thread made of equality and justice so
can this world be changed no not unless
people like us rise up and recognize
women’s rights as human rights not
unless we are willing to not just be
indifferent to this cause but join it
support it because I’m angry I’m angry
at
in this country and at this world for
standing by as the rights of women are
taken away everywhere and if it’s what I
need to do so that you will recognize my
anger then I will proudly call myself a
nasty woman [Applause]