Compared to the former era, most women nowadays are exposed to access to education. Most women can pursue their dreams. It is different from Kartini’s era. Well, actually we also can call her as a feminist activist, as she also fought for gender equity.
In the modern era, we are able to find many women who contribute to the development of science. One of them is Dewi Nur Aisyah. She is an epidemiologist from Indonesia. She is working at Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Disease – Health Policy Research Group, Universitas Indonesia. She also studied until her Doctoral Degree. Not only that, she got her PhD from the UK, together with her husband. Her name has become more famous since the Pandemic of Covid-19.
Besides that, the former first lady, Michelle Obama has been fighting for the importance of steering girls toward careers in science, technology, engineering and math. She said that "If we’re going to out-innovate and out-educate the rest of the world, we've got to open doors for everyone.” She also added, "We need all hands on deck, and that means clearing hurdles for women and girls as they navigate careers in science, technology, engineering and math."
4. Do we still need this movement in nowadays situations? Is it still relevant?
Feminism activists have made wonderful progress nowadays. Let’s say in the last five to ten years, society has become more egalitarian. Some workplaces and school places have become more friendly to women. Furthermore, in some places, the Patriarchy System no longer exists. So, many people consider that we have not needed this movement anymore. Nevertheless, in some other places the practice of Patriarchal Culture has not ended. There are many discriminations which are accepted by women in many aspects. That is why we still need this movement until every woman feels ‘safe and secure.’
The struggle has not finished here. There are many problems which we should face today as in :
A. The Culture of Victim Blaming.
I often find the statement, “Oh, she is worth to rape. Look at her appearance while she was raped. She wore a whore-clothes.” From there we know that nowadays victim blaming culture has not ended. Actually clothes are not the indicator of someone being raped. It is not a matter of clothes, but the rapist mindset. Why am I able to say this? As two years ago, in Bandung, there was a clothing exhibition for sexual violence survivor. There are twelve sets of clothes which were displayed there. Eight from twelve clothes are trousers, shirt, and hood. Earlier, in Belgia there was the same exhibition too. It was titled “Is it my fault?” There, visitors could find that the clothes which were used by them, while they were raped, were regular clothes. Furthermore, in the first month of 2020 there was a case from Reinhard Sinaga which raped hundreds of guys in Manchester. The victims did not wear ‘the inviting’ clothes too. So that the thing that we should repair is the rapists mindset. It is not merely about clothes.
B. In my surrounding, women are still considered as a ‘second lead’ while it comes to relationships (marriage).
There are many men who will feel that women hurt their pride and ego while women have more salary than them. Especially when they have got married. Somehow, in their mindset, they are the one who should be the greatest and the most superior at home. Ayu Utami, one of the feminist writers in Indonesia always criticize it. She considered that marriage law in Indonesia is not fair yet. In Indonesia itself, while two people decide to get married, the men will automatically become the head of a family. However, when it comes to practice, there are many wives who are leading the family and becoming breadwinners, but they do not get the fair confessions. No matter what happens, they are the second lead. Fact that I have explained earlier may seem taboo here, but the fact exists.
As I have explained there, it can be a clear reason why we still need feminism. It is not about telling women what they should do. Feminism is about supporting and empowering people. It is not merely about men versus women. It is about gender-based violence, people with disabilities and other marginalized people. It is about the wrong stereotypes that have created and stay in our mindset for years. I hate the way people concept toxic masculinity. I hate the way people in my surrounding get the discrimination, just because their gender. Then I also hate the fact that women are still become victims of gender discrimination, victims of sexual assault, and do not have access to some aspects. That is why we still need feminism, even until today.
