Shannyl discusses why feminism is important to her, and some ideas for a better future. What does feminism mean to you as an individual in New Zealand Society? Shannyl: To me feminism means being a part of the gender of females having equal rights towards freedom of speech and having equality in society alongside males. It’s about being able to fluctuate our voices and prove our capabilities as women. If I was to define feminism in one sentence I would say it is who I am, what I am, and how I am. Feminism is what makes the gender of females what we are and defines our uniqueness. But to me feminism also equally means addressing issues and achieving long terms solutions to such problems whilst creating a world where women are entitled to the same treatment as men. Is it more than just equality between men and women? What about race or ethnicity? Shannyl: Feminism is more then just men and women having equality between each other it’s about being able to share opinions together and interactive positively in our society. In my perspective I feel women and men of all ethnicities should have the right to speak their minds and create a platform for each other to stand upon and fight for equality. It’s about forming togetherness between the different races of our world in today’s day and time. I personally feel equality shouldn’t just exist on the basis of gender but we should fairly have equality in the structures of ethnicity and race. So I definitely agree that equality is more then just gender as we see various topics such as racism, sexism, and discrimination are causing a hierarchy to take place - categorizing people into particular demographics so it is necessary to expand our thoughts on feminism to a greater and complex level. Why is it important to celebrate youth voices in our community? Shannyl: Due to the voices of our youth being neglected as we are never taken seriously by adults I feel that due the generation I have been brought up in being more broad minded as well as having an open mind towards current crisis’s and issues taking place globally. It is important as the youth of today’s society we utilize our voices positively because we as a whole can enable our future generations to come together and enable change to occur. I also correspondingly feel that being a part of today’s youth in New Zealand we are the ones who can make our future generations feel extensively comfortable in their own skin and not have to change the way they are due to issues such as discrimination and racism existing based on ethnicity or race. Do you think this can generate more development opportunities for youths and future generations? Shannyl: Yes I personally consider utilizing the voices we have in society being a part of youth would effectively allow future generations to have opportunities to equally bring change and inclusiveness into society. It would also allow our youth groups to have a subjective to speak upon and significantly create fairness between women and men of all ethic groups. By us creating awareness we will be able to influence and educate children in a variety of different schooling systems as well to create platforms such as Shakti for their students as this will increase consciousness towards issues such as females not receiving equal rights alongside males in today’s society as well as facing sexism. It will also create awareness to linking issues such as discrimination and bullying towards different races.
How do you envision the future if your (youth) voices were more present? Shannyl: I envision that through the future of our youth and the voices we have been privileged with we will be able to create a society where everyone is treated equally and women are correspondingly given respect alongside men. I also hope to see a change in the way people think towards the gender of females, as I would like to see women being equally acknowledged and thought of as capable as men. This being because I have experienced women being judged or questioned for opportunities such as education which I disapprove of as a female should be allowed to equivalently be rewarded with opportunities in high sufficient employment as well as educationally. So I significantly hope for a change in society’s insight and to change how society currently is which is racially discriminative towards a range of ethnicities. To find out more about the Youth March this Sunday, check out our Facebook event here. *More information on these statistics can be found here and here.
0 Comments
"Feminism without intersectionality is just white supremacy and we can't be tolerant of that."5/25/2017 Lily, 16, from Lynfield College talks about feminism, family violence and the upcoming Youth March. You can follow her on Instagram @feminism.nz here. What does feminism mean to you as an individual in New Zealand society? Lily: New Zealand is very socially progressive and our status as the first independent country to grant women's suffrage fills me with a strong sense of patriotism. However, we are not short of flaws despite being very first to combat de jure misogyny and actually achieve said goal. A brief list includes: sanitary products are still being taxed 15% due to it being considered luxury items; abortion accessibility is limited underneath unjust government-enforced restrictions; systematic devaluation of pink collar labour, resulting in the 12.0% gap in median hourly earnings between men and women as of 2016. To me, feminism is about addressing such issues to reach desirable long-term solutions so women are entitled to the same treatment as their male counterparts. Is it more than just equality between men and women? What about race or ethnicity? Lily: Definitely. Oppressive systems of power (sexism, racism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia etc.) overlap and are interconnected with one another to maintain a hierarchy which places certain demographics above others. It's absolutely crucial to be inclusive of marginalised communities in one's feminist activism because we have to move from the age when feminism only benefited white women and striven off the deliberate exclusion of women of colour. That only encouraged white women's complicity in the patriarchy and further disadvantaged those without white privilege. Feminism without intersectionality is just white supremacy and we can't be tolerant of that. Why is it important to celebrate youth voices in our community? Lily: The voices of today's youth are often disregarded as they are not taken seriously by adults, who primarily go by the notion that young people are less knowledgeable, which is completely baseless, as I've met so many influential teenagers who pushed me to think for myself instead of following the mainstream flow, which is a popular trend in previous generations. By comparison, my generation is so much more open-minded than those before us and with our willingness to challenge matters we don't agree with rather than stew in hateful ignorance, we possess the power to lay the foundation to building an accepting society for all. Do you think this can generate more development opportunities for youths and future generations? Lily: Yes! I have a lot of faith in today's youth and our capabilities. I'm sure we all share a desire to improve aspects of society previous generations completely fucked up, therefore giving us no choice but to learn from their mistakes to establish a better future for us all. What current issues are you hoping for Shakti’s Youth march to raise awareness for? Lily: The devastating fact that New Zealand has one of the worst rates of family and intimate partner violence in the developed world, which we need to take action towards instead of ignoring its existence in our supposedly perfect society. How are some ways we get this across to the general public? What roles can the wider community play in this? Lily: I think we need to start an open dialogue within ourselves because domestic violence is a subject that is often stigmatised. If we continue treating it as a taboo, many others will be discouraged to seek help. Awareness is the very first step. How do you envision the future if your [youth] voices were more present? Lily: Better. Join Lily and other students from high schools around Auckland on a march to end violence and discrimination. For more information, check out the Facebook event here.
I have always hated the way I was treated differently for been born a girl. I am a 19-year-old Sri Lankan girl. My family moved to New Zealand 7 years ago, and coming from a South-Asian background I was always told how a girl should behave. Recently, after attending a family violence awareness training seminar with Shakti, when I was at a family friend’s house, my father and an uncle started discussing how Sri Lanka family dynamic teaches children respect, and I thought this was the day I can change their mind about gender inequality. My father and the uncle talked about how in Sri Lanka, if we see a family walking down the road, head of the family, the father, walks a bit to the front of the rest of the family. They talked about how this is a sign of protection and that the man is leading and protecting his wife and kids. At meal times, the father or the grandfather gets food first because the wife respect the husband for providing for her. I do not see this as a sign of respect but authority and dominance men hold over women. Respect is not a one-way street, men and women both should respect each other and aimed be equal partners in a relationship. We also do not live in the 80s or 90s anymore. Most women work to support their family due to economic circumstances, which means the so called ‘family dynamic’ has changed. Women should not be obligated to do house work by themselves. Nowadays, men and women both have 9am to 5pm jobs. When they return from work, both partners should take responsibilities and help each other with work around the house. Ever since I was little, I challenged my mother when she told me I should do certain things because I am a girl. I don’t mind helping my parents or doing a little housework but I am against the fact I should do these things because I am a girl. This bothers me more because I have an older brother who gets no responsibilities around the house just for been born a guy. I was told from a younger age how I should dress, sit, or talk if I ever wanted to get married. Now that we live in New Zealand, for many situations my mother argues, “We are Sri Lankans. Just because we live in NZ, don’t forget about how we do things in our culture”. Normally it is a good thing to hold on to the culture of the country we are from but it is not a valid reason to discriminate based on gender. It is time to change the traditional family dynamic that forces gender labels. How girls should dress is something that often comes up in our culture. We are told to cover ourselves to stay protected. I tried to explain this to the uncle I was talking to, that girls don’t get sexually assaulted because of what they wear, and if that was the case western countries like New Zealand would have higher rate of rape than a country like Sri Lanka. Instead of telling girls to cover themselves and feel ashamed show their body, why aren’t we teaching boys to treat women with respect? The uncle responded by saying “why would you want to be vulnerable like that?” Women shouldn’t have to feel vulnerable and exposed when they wear comfortable clothes. I have always challenged my parents when they tell me to be a “girl” and I will continue to do so. Even though my parents are set on their ways and not likely to change, I won’t keep quiet and accept. I am grateful for everything they have done for me, especially bringing me to a country that opened my eyes and can raise my voice to challenge these views of inequalities. |