Earlier, I have written about my gratitude towards women who have struggled to break the norms throughout history to achieve something like equality that we have today, women have given us voice and women who continue this struggle to make lives better for us. I want to re-share the post here first because that to me is the essence of celebrating women's day:
A moment of gratitude and empathy: Celebrating the spirit of Women's Day - link
I promised to continue to endure and carry on with the struggle. This time, I am calling upon people of all genders to introspect and acknowledge the different privileges each of us have, so that we can understand and bridge the gap between equality and marginalization. Understanding privilege is important - because every inch of our privilege is bought with suppressing a part of our own humanity. Privilege tells us lies to suppress the acceptance that marginalization and oppression are the inevitable foot-holders of privilege, that privilege cannot exist by definition without the existence of someone who is deprived of that privilege.
Starting with me, I understand I am marginalized because of my gender. But I also want to acknowledge all the privileges that I have to extend the outreach of my feminism to those who are more marginalized than me.
I am privileged because of my Caste (so-called 'forward caste').
I am privileged because of my Religion (so-called 'majoritarian religion').
I am privileged because of my Abled-body (no physical or mental disabilities).
I am privileged because of my Skin-color (so-called 'fair-skinned').
I am privileged because of my Education.
I am privileged because of my Sexuality.
I am privileged because of my Social Status (conventionally 'successfully married with children').
I am privileged because of my Income.
I am privileged because of my Weight (so-called 'not obese'. Fat-hatred which is prevalent these days is shocking - that deserves a separate post of its own).
I am privileged because of my Family background (educated parents with government jobs).
I am privileged because of my City (metro-urban).
I am privileged because of my Country (stable democracy with reasonable liberties).
When we understand our Privilege, we get better at perceiving Oppression, and consequently, at embracing empathy and Equality. I understand that as I write, there are millions of people including women in the world who are not privileged, and I am telling them that my solidarity remains with them in their battle against Oppression.
Related post:
A moment of gratitude and empathy: Celebrating the spirit of Women's Day - link
Recommended reading:
Feminism 101 - link
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