March is international women’s month. I’ll be celebrating as a Muslim girl, whose misconceptions don’t define me. Contrary to the misconceptions, the Hijab wasn’t forced on me but it was my – own – choice; my religion doesn’t allow any man to make that decision for me and modesty doesn’t keep me from from living or fulfilling my dreams. This is because my own choice to wear the hijab isn’t oppression. As prophet Muhammad once said, “The best are those who are the best towards women.”

So, where do women belong? Women do not belong in the kitchen. They do not belong in the house taking care of their husband who is definitely old enough to take care of himself. They do not belong in the back row of a bus. They do not belong in the shadow of a man. Women belong in the driver’s seat. They belong in a white coat treating patients. They belong in the white house.

The women at Augustana College are strong independent women who represent power, strength, and determination. These women have worked hard on themselves and made it all the way to college. Many of them will go on to achieve many great things and prove to the world once again that we are able to achieve anything and everything

Dear women, don’t let any man convince you that you deserve a dime less than him. You don’t even deserve a penny less than what they earn. We are equal. Don’t let words that say otherwise get to you. Push them away, ignore them. You are much stronger than the words coming from someone who is ignorant. You should know better. You are worth just as much as they are. There is nothing about men that make them better and nothing about women that make them less. You are good enough.
The solution isn’t getting rid of genders. The solution is acknowledging gender but treating each other equally anyway. The solution is to not assign gender roles and gender stereotypes.

“You run like a girl” should not be an insult. It should be considered a compliment. Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, Simone Biles, Allyson Felix, and Hope Solo are all women athletes who could run like anyone wishes to run. The problem isn’t that women aren’t strong. We are strong and powerful. The problem is that many men perceive their strength to be incomparable to ours. They think and perceive themselves to be better than us women.
Gender inequality should be a human fight, not a women fight. We should all be feminists. Feminism is defined as, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” It doesn’t specify that it’s women who are fighting for equality of the sexes. This could be men too. Feminism isn’t only targeted towards women. It is targeted towards both men and women. Both girls and boys. Gender inequality is a worldwide issue that we must find a solution to.