The avatar of these activists has changed in the past few years, though.[break] Feminists traditionally meant women who would dress up like men, go against the norms of society, and moreover try to reduce the difference between a man and a woman. Today we have another group of feminists. These are women who conform to the definition of women; wearing clothes that women are expected to wear, put on make up and moreover, keep that difference between a man and woman. These days such feminists are using this difference to their advantage and to move ahead in life.
This trend has been observed in Nepal too in the past few years. Women, especially younger ones, have been actually using their femininity and moving ahead in various fields.
“I think both sexes are equal so there must be no difference. Women today celebrate womanhood and don’t try to imitate men, which is very important. Before there was an identity crisis because of which feminists tried imitating men. But today women have learned to take a stand,” says Aditi Shrestha, a management consultant and corporate advisor at BEED.
However, there are some who believe in competing with men by challenging what it means to be a ‘woman’ or a ‘man,’ arguing there is no real distinction in character and often and taking up an avatar like men.
“There has been a lot of talk about feminism and a woman getting more chances, but the implementation has been lower than expected. I am fine with the people who don’t like the tag of ‘feminist’ until and unless they are working and making a difference. I don’t have any problem with makeup and wearing ‘girl-like’ clothes. Actually, women are taking this as an advantage to move ahead. But there have been instances when my friends have not been able to move ahead because they wore manly clothes. Later, they had to get back to wear girly clothes to get back attention,” says Sushma Joshi, a consultant and writer.
"It’s all about competing and coming up to prove that we are also equal. Obviously there is no superior sex. As for me, I wear what I am comfortable in. I don’t try to differentiate between myself and a boy. Apart from the basic physical structure, there is literally no difference,” says Kripa Dongol, 17, student of Rato Bangala School.
Feminism has been a controversial debate for years. There has not been yet a universally accepted concrete definition of a ‘feminist’. Women themselves have to decide what type of feminist they want to be.
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