By Layal Al Challah | Staff Writer
People have many misconceptions about what feminism is. Many think it’s made up of women encouraging each other to hate men, which consequently sparked the creation of men’s rights activists as a way to balance out feminism. These countless misconceptions that people possess about feminism have widened the gender gap even further, leading to even more fights, hatred, and aggression. However, it’s not very known that people can have their own definition of feminism, whether they view it from a religious, gender, or race perspective; as long as an individual supports women and gender equality, they are considered to be a feminist. Many feel ashamed to label themselves as feminists because they believe that it comes with underlying conceptions, such as being viewed as a raging ‘men-hater’, which is extremely inaccurate. Moreover, from a religious point of view, many believe that feminism is encouraging women to lose all attachment to religion and that it’s promoting indecent ways of living, which is also extremely incorrect.
This is where intersectional feminism comes in. Intersectional feminism is feminism, but it takes into perspective all the layers in which women might be oppressed within. The words “intersectional feminism” exist because of all the misconceptions about feminism. It encourages people to realize that feminism is extremely flexible, complicated, and multifaceted. As in, it’s extremely shallow to think of feminism as one rigid set of rules that people blindly follow, but it’s rather a complex movement of human rights. Its complexity is due to its consideration of all potential aspects of women’s suffering, such as race, education, religion, nationality, ethnicity, culture, language, class, ability, age, and so on. Feminism does take into consideration the intersectionality, but the words “intersectional feminism” were made to further clarify to people that the struggle is not simple; it manifests in many shapes and forms, and that’s why feminism exists. For example, the struggle of an Arab woman is extremely different from the struggle of a Latina woman or from the struggle of a Caucasian woman. The barriers of suffering that women have to break to end the struggle differ from one woman to another, and that’s how feminism helps us realize that everyone’s struggle is different. Moreover, we should do what we can to help end it and celebrate the perseverance of women from all over the world.
To clarify further what intersectional feminism represents on Women’s Day, here are some amazing Arab women that had to break extraordinary barriers to achieve their greatness:
1. Fairuz
Fairuz is an icon of the Middle East and beyond. Born in Beirut in 1934, Fairuz has managed to revolutionize the Arabic music scene ever since she was a teenager. She will always be loved and appreciated amongst all nationalities and generations for her mesmerizing voice, her great message, and her overall existence. She was an icon that became one of the highest selling Arab musicians of all time. She was as an influencer before influencers existed, as she always used her platform to raise awareness about many issues, such as constantly using her music and voice to support Palestine.
2. Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur is a tennis player from Tunisia who became the first woman to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championship in 2022, one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world. The 27-year old has had an undying passion for tennis ever since she was 13. She moved cities so she can train full time, where she would wake up at 5 a.m. every day to practice. She persevered to get to where she is now, and she made all Tunisians proud, and therefore all Arabs proud of this accomplishment.
3. Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi architect who managed to design amazing buildings all around the world after years of struggle. Zaha faced a lot of discrimination in her early days, where she was not taken very seriously in her dominated field. Despite the adversity, she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Zaha studied mathematics here at AUB and designed the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs building. She is also known for other amazing designs, such as the Heydar Aliyev Center, Al Janoub Stadium, Havenhuis, and the Guagzhou Opera House. Unfortunately, Zaha died in 2016 due to a heart attack, but her legacy will be imprinted in our minds forever. Zaha was a pioneer in the architecture world.
Feminism is all about empowering and celebrating women and their achievements, despite all the barriers that they face in the workplace and society. The struggle to abolish the gender gap is a very long process, but it is up to us to raise awareness and educate people on what feminism really is. Intersectional feminism IS feminism. We should celebrate women from all over the world with all different kinds of struggles. Let’s make people proud of calling themselves feminists, especially on Women’s Day!