Imagine working in an office working as a project manager, people hardly pay attention to you, they hardly respect you, you get paid less in comparison to your male counterpart. Now if a man walks in and starts talking everyone will automatically pay attention to him, they will respect him, and he gets paid more for doing the same work you are doing. This is why it is important to talk about feminism. Feminism is the belief and advocacy for the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. When the topic of genders arise we are not just focusing on women, though it is many people’s first thought, we as society are focusing on both men and women. Both have to fight for some aspect of equality in some way and that is not talked about enough.
Has anything ever truly mattered when it comes to us? Our opinions? Our voices? Our votes? Or have we taken a backseat to accommodate the true rulers of society: men. For decades, us women have been sticking to the same formula over and over again. Don’t talk back. Obey your husband. Do not question him. Cook. Clean. Take care of children. The same reality lived over and over again, and it was exhausting. Society thought of us as burdens. That’s why they put us in our homes and locked us in—because showing what we are capable of would result in severe consequences.
For years, women have been objectified, sexualised, and abused, and there were virtually no consequences for it. It was just the expectation at the time to be able to take it. To not stand up for oneself. To not create a scene, because doing so would humiliate the men. At a time where men were put on a pedestal for simply existing, women would suffer the brunt of the punishments for challenging their intellect, speaking out, or voicing their wrongdoings. In fact, the phrase “women should be seen, not heard” evolved from a 15th-century proverb originally directed at children and young maidens. That mindset stayed locked in place for centuries.
Society is deep-rooted in patriarchy, and it uses that system as an excuse for why women are mistreated. When a woman walks alone at night and gets sexually assaulted, the first question asked is usually, “What was she wearing?” As if clothing is the reason someone had their safety and privacy invaded. As if clothing is an invitation. News flash: it isn’t. A woman can wear an oversized sweater and jeans and still run the risk of getting sexually assaulted. It is horrible the way the system protects perpetrators more than victims, turning around and blaming women for provoking their own assault.
We saw this exact nightmare play out in the horrifying 2024 Cornell 7 case, where a female student filed a civil federal lawsuit against seven male members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University, as well as the fraternity and the university itself. The case stemmed from an October 2024 incident inside the fraternity house, where the student reported being drugged with ketamine, sexually coerced, and gang-raped by multiple fraternity members. When she sought justice through the university’s Title IX process, the school responded with shockingly weak disciplinary actions—expelling only two men while giving others light penalties like writing essays.
Refusing to be silenced by institutional bureaucracy or local prosecutors who initially declined criminal charges, the victim fought back legally to expose how the university prioritized protecting male students, fraternity culture, and institutional reputation over a female victim’s safety. Her legal battle eventually triggered state intervention and forced a reopening of criminal investigations, proving how deeply male protections run within powerful institutions.
The 2024 Cornell 7 case is a chilling modern reminder of how deeply patriarchal protections run. When a woman suffers violence, the default response from institutions is so often to doubt her, downplay her trauma, and protect the men involved. It proves that whether it’s getting passed over for equal pay in a modern office or being failed by university administration after an assault, women are still fighting for basic safety, respect, and human dignity.
When we talk about feminism today, this is what we are fighting against. Feminism isn’t about hating men or putting one gender above another. It’s about tearing down these rotten double standards so that everyone—regardless of gender—can live, work, and exist with absolute safety, equal pay, and fair treatment. We’ve taken a backseat and stayed quiet for far too long, and refusing to tolerate these injustices any longer is the only way real change will happen.
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