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The future of feminism in youth?
According to common beliefs, feminists are ugly, single women who live surrounded by their cats. People find it even more difficult to believe that the so-called self-centered youth whom the only interest is going out; may be interested in
feminism. We interviewed two girls who proved us
otherwise.
It is an indisputable fact for some people. Young
people are interested in nothing except the useless
things like going, having the latest trendy thing or
having a lot of followers on social media. But times
have changed and young people are paying more
and more attention to social issues.
Young feminists are an active and vital segment of
women's movements around the world by impacting
social change for the realisation of women's rights
and justice. We can take the example of Create-Net
Youth, a youth association campaigning against
female genital mutilation.
But this time, we will look at two young feminists for
whom feminist beliefs have nothing to do with age.
The first one is called Meltem Avcil (picture above), a former Kingston University student who studied 2 years of mechanical engineering. In August 2007 at 6 o'clock, the immigration officers arrived at Meltem’s house, knocked on the door and took her with her mother to the infamous Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre. She was only 13 years old at the time. This traumatic event to not only developed her feminist convictions, but because of that she also became a fervent activist for the rights of immigrant children in detention.
As she confesses, "I have witnessed some very disturbing things at that age and at Thirteen I knew the importance of Human Rights because it was taken away from me and my mother. Imprisonment of children and innocent people are not right to begin with and yes I would have been the same person even if I were not to be imprisoned."
Last year she even launched a petition calling for an end of the detention of women seeking asylum.
But to get back to her status as a feminist activist, she says, "I did not choose the fight for women's empowerment, I was born in to it. Coming from a Kurdish background most of the times I have seen our women oppressed and directed. For me, feminism just means equality. It's more of a human thing rather than a female thing."
Words are good, but it is the actions that have more weight. That is why she has participated in several outstanding events. Moreover, she won a prize that rewarded her actions for fighting for the human cause.
"Winning the Liberty Human Rights Award made me feel proud of the work we do as women for refugee women."
If she had any advice to give to future generations and young people in general, it would be "to stand up for what you believe".
The second feminist we interviewed is Lilinaz Evans, a 17 year old feminist activist from London. She created a sort of feminist society when she was at school, the Feminism 101. After that, she founded the Twitter Youth Feminist Army last Christmas "so the TYFA would have a blog and a space to share our opinions and a place for teenage girls to come and find out about feminism from their peers".
She became a feminist because she was inspired by Susuana Antubam, NUS women’s officer. "She is a ground breaking feminist who has worked tirelessly for the cause. I have seen the benefits of the amazing good work she has done for example I Cœur grossissant Consent. She was encouraging and a great influence to me when I first became interested in feminism".
She also chose to join the fight for feminism and women's empowerment because it amazed and angered her to see the fingerprints of patriarchy and other oppressive systems on her life. "For me it is the choice to fight is not about fighting but between surviving and not surviving".
Among her most notable actions, she quotes the Campaign4Consent with TYFA and CapitolCuties with spark movement.
For her, there’s no age to be interested in women’s cause. As she says, "If I am old enough to be street harassed, I am old enough to be involved with feminism.”
