EMERGING FEMINISMS, Everyone Should Be a Feminist

By Aisha Jitan

Everyone should be a feminist.
Tell me you are a believer of justice, true freedom,
A believer in fundamental human rights.
Tell me now, how are you not a feminist?

They dehumanize, criticize, victimize women.
Never celebrated, nor appreciated.
We will never be good enough for them,
We will never be of sufficient value—
Unless we actively oppose the corruption of the system.

The System: made by men, made for men.
“All men are created equal,” I suppose the
founding fathers forgot about half of the
American population. Forty-four American
Presidents—all of which are men.
I suppose only half of us have a political voice.

Women do not have a voice:
our bodies should speak for themselves.
Bodies that are defaced, deformed,
Demeaned by magazines.

The glossy pages feature photo-shopped figures,
Women, smiles on their pixelated faces,
But on the inside: emotionless, empty,
Dissatisfied with what damage has been done to their true selves.

Voices are silenced by the cries
Of pain. Pain brought upon by the
Societal standards that we cannot
Attain, but still strive to achieve.

Society demeaned our identity.
Are women not sensual, intellectual beings?
Tell me now, why are we not treated as such?
Feminist: a believer in social, economical and political
–justice—
for women
Because women are perpetually stripped
Of their human rights.
And until this violation comes to a cessation,
Everyone should be a feminist:
Because no one is free until
We are all believers of feminism.

Aisha Jitan is a Junior attending Holmdel High School in Holmdel, New Jersey. At her school, she is heavily involved in theater, music programs, helped to establish the Women’s Empowerment Club, sports, and a vast multitude of other activities. Aisha is immersed in social justice work and has traveled to Syria, Palestine, and Jordan to work with refugees. She is directly involved in the building and betterment of her community at home as well. Aisha hopes to pursue a career in journalism and manifest her passion for writing into a way of life.