The world right now is full of controversy, and one of the main controversies I keep seeing regards women’s rights. This sparks a lot of feminists attention. Feminism is defined as the advocacy to women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes. Being a feminist in a small town can be worrisome, especially when our school system doesn’t tend to talk about women’s rights as much as they truly should. 

The judgment I receive when telling people that I am a feminist and I want to empower the women around me is crazy. In such a small community, differences can make or break you, especially with the negativity associated with being a feminist. 

Feminism is typically thought of as women marching streets demanding that they become superior to men, which is just not true. Feminism is advocating for equal rights between men and women. With the false definition, there is a negative stigma surrounding feminists and what we stand for. I believe that schools should help crush the negative stereotypes and stigmas of feminism through education. 

Implementing feminist education could be a simple change with the potential to make a huge difference. The smallest change would just be a small group in AO about female empowerment. But what could they teach exactly? In an article on The Statesman written by Xenia Gonika, she talks about how this education could be open for interpretation. “Supporting feminist organizations and the movement is extremely important because there is still work to be done in terms of gender equality. Also, supporting feminism is a good way to educate yourself on the values behind it,” Gonika said. 

Proper education is extremely powerful, and women deserve to have education on women’s rights. We are the future of this country, and without education, we may not be able to achieve the equality we aspire to have. Through small changes, we could truly be empowering women.