Brown Girl Magazine
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen
shop
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen
shop
No Result
View All Result
Brown Girl Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture

What Happens When You Ask a Feminist an Ignorant Question

Brown Girl Magazine by Brown Girl Magazine
June 9, 2016
in Culture, Feminism, Hot Topics
0 0
0
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by Rimsha Syed – Follow @BrownGirlMag

There I was, scrolling through my Twitter feed, hoping I could make it through ONE day without seeing something ignorant or demeaning. By no one’s surprise, that was a major fail because I came across a Tweet that required my full attention.

Let’s reiterate his question one more time so it properly sinks in:

“If women are equal to men, why can’t we see any female Plato, Aristotle, Einsteins, Newton, Bill Gates, etc.?”

He addressed this question towards feminists, so I, a feminist, will answer.

Shall we take a moment to rack our brains and remember some basic middle school history? The social status of women when Plato and Aristotle were roaming Mother Earth, was limited, to say the very least. Women were expected to be subservient to the will of their fathers and husbands and fulfill the role of household manager.

In early American history alone, higher education for women was not only highly frowned upon but something that could result in humiliation, ridicule, and even punishment. It wasn’t until women’s rights movement of the ’60s and ’70s that brought dramatic educational changes, but even then, it’s taken decades for women like Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, Indra Nooyi, Sheryl Sandberg, and Bidhya Devi Bhandari to take center stage.

Patriarchy and gender roles institutionalized women from infiltrating the arena, which ultimately suppressed their knowledge, creativity, and skills. How were previous generations of women meant to master the sciences if men didn’t allow them the chance?

It doesn’t take a “male rocket scientist” to conclude that women weren’t given opportunities until recent times, so it’s ridiculous to say women haven’t accomplished as much as men have.

Despite the fact that society viewed educated women as “unnatural” and that it was near impossible for women to prosper with substantial accomplishments without facing challenges that men could never fathom, there are numerous female pioneers in philosophy, medicine, engineering, and beyond. Not to mention men have a history of taking credit for their work or creating unnecessary obstacles to stop them.

[Read Related: 10 Badass Female Muslim Leaders You Should Know]

Just because men have been deemed superior for centuries, doesn’t make a woman’s contribution any less important. Rewriting history in order to openly teach young boys and girls about women who have made a difference is a work in progress. If @TayyabMemon took the time to open up a text book and actually do some research, he’d easily see all the boss ladies that have surpassed the radical idea that there is a sex difference in intelligence.

Historical and modern female role models should be celebrated, thanked, and remembered, not tossed aside and underappreciated simply because their gender.

Just think, Rosalind Franklin is responsible for much of the discovery work that led to the understanding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and it is widely debated whether or not she deserved more credit than James Wasson and Francis Crick.

Indira Gandhi, India’s third prime minister, brought about the dramatic change that improved the country’s poor and headed movements that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Sarojini Naidu, a poet and activist, known as the “Nightingale of India,” was the first of many—the first governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh for two years, the first woman governor of an Indian state, and she was also the first Indian woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress.

Harriet Tubman, an iconic woman who escaped slavery but selflessly dedicated her life to saving other slaves, and now she’s the new face of the twenty dollar bill.

[Read Related: 7 Reasons to Celebrate Women on Our Currency]

Florence Nightingale is the founder of modern nursing. Amelia Earhart was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

These women, along with more, have made substantial achievements and they will continue to despite the ignorant rhetoric that only men work hard.


RimshaS

Rimsha Syed was born and raised deep in the heart of Texas. She is a young Muslim, feminist, Harry Potter enthusiast, who enjoys writing, blogging, photography and being a self-appointed activist. Rimsha attends the University of Texas at Austin and hopes to work for Doctors Without Borders or be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Usually pretty friendly unless she hasn’t had her coffee.
Tags: Culturefeministgender equalityissuesrimsha syedwomenwomens rights

Recent Posts

  • Sun and Skincare: South Asian Beauty Influencers Share Their Summer Season Must-Haves
  • Kayan Opens up About her Music Artistry
  • Decoding Dopamine Dressing This Summer
  • In Conversation With Ashok Amritraj: Celebrating his 40-Year Legacy
  • Enduring the Fight for Freedom

Recent Comments

  1. Op-Ed: Rihanna, Savage X Fenty, and the Continued Misuse and Disrespect of Hinduism on Dark Goddesses and me: Religious Colorism in Hindu India
  2. Celebrating International Mother Language Day and Multilingualism on On Language and Home: Revisiting Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘In Other Words’
  3. What International Mother Language Day Means to British Bangladeshis on Celebrating International Mother Language Day with Self Reflection and Reclaiming One’s Bangladeshi Identity
  4. Book Review: Understanding Public Health on Deeper Level with 'Health Care of a Thousand Slights' by Anjana Sreedhar on Pursuing Inspiration: Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Health Care, and Self-Care
  5. Book Review: ‘ZOM-FAM’ by Kama La Mackerel on Grazing Over Pages of Identities Unmilked: ‘The Cowherd’s Son’
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube Envelope

About

Founded as an online publication in 2008, Brown Girl Magazine is a multimedia company based in New York City with global reach dedicated to South Asian self-expression, cultural anchoring, and dialogue.
Through diverse, multimedia content and community building, we empower and engage those who identify as a part of the South Asian diaspora with a hyphenated identity.

Subscribe To The Spark

A curated newsletter full of dinner-table worthy topics, thought provoking stories, promo codes and the spiciest memes straight to your inbox.

Categories

  • Entertainment
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Health
  • Relationships
  • Community
  • Brown Boy

©Copyright Brown Girl Magazine Inc.

  • Company
  • About
  • Contact
  • Join
  • Advertise
  • Sponsored Content
  • Privacy Policy
  • Term of use
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
Go to mobile version