Cheering: The Gender Warriors! + The Seeds of Diversity

I, like many supporters, observers and the likes cheer for gender warriors, the real agents of change and we celebrate them because they are taking giant strides in mass as well as making individual advances in dealing with gender-based violence decisively and unitedly. The array of diverse faces and voices is now a movement as some call it or the second wave of feminism - a term that is loosely thrown around to describe any revolt against sexism, femicide, misogyny, GBV, marginalization, discrimination or harassment on a global scale - which isn't dying down anymore or losing any steam. It has integrated from small fragments strewn here and there to now, everywhere..becoming one whole. This achievement, although slow and gradual, because institutionalized patriarchy is a hard nut to crack, is definitely seeing a revival in volumes, and thankfully so! Be it the Chilean protest anthem: The Rapist is You or, #MeToo and it's regionalized, localized versions of these events are the breakpoint women need to fight the predatory culture and especially the subservient ideology of our social fabric through conditioned and enforced gender norms. Unity is indeed beautiful, and powerful to see.. as women are now standing up for other women....in a profound way! 

I am writing this blog with utmost happiness as a brother of two sisters and a proud son of a mother who has taught her son to respect women and understand clearly that girls have the same fundamental right as boys. I grew up with this belief. I believe female empowerment is here, stronger than ever. The level playing field is the only path. You can choose to stay in the rut or traverse through and walk along with an inevitable sense of gender equality. A large portion of men obviously won't understand this any better, will be quick to brush this off because they are wired for it i.e. it is their natural behaviour or has been up to this point where it will have to change.

Women of today are not confused regarding their role in society. Neither they are shy to question any broad issue of abuse and discrimination across all facets of society: In families, workplaces, communities, within and outside the system underpinning global economies, the legal systems, politics, etc. where it is becoming increasingly difficult for perpetrators or aggressors to escape through the cracks. The patriarchal pyramid structure is breaking and falling flat on its face. Nowadays everything is being exposed so issues and challenges around abuse or violence are being addressed and norms and systems that keep women bounded are breaking out. Gender-based violence does more than endanger the welfare, it affects economic stability on a global level. Post-culmination of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign, we must continue the momentum in any way we can. Because of every little action, there is a positive impact. Like talking about Diversity has led us to a time that we can see leaders like Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister At 34, a daughter of two members of the LGBT community. Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa takes a bow and wears the Miss Universe 2019 crown at the Miss Universe pageant in Atlanta, US with these soulful words: "I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me with my kind of skin and my kind of hair was never considered to be beautiful. And I think that's time that it stops today!" Miss Myanmar, Swe Zin Htet becomes the first contestant to come out in the Miss Universe contest and pushes for LGBTQ+ rights in a country where being gay can be punishable by law - gives us hope that we are heading to a society where everyone has a voice to call out on discrimination, fear of persecution and definitely, violence. And there are people wanting to hear, take decisive action, offer support, empathize, in any and every capacity they can offer to make our world a better, safer place.

- An opportunistic forever optimist - Amit Anand -