'Feminism is about passion'

There have always been tensions between the Southern and Northern regions of our world, and this is opposition can also be found in feminist movements. It makes me wonder: Are European feminists advocating enough for women in the South? Is European feminism sharing the same ideals, the same goals? In just one talk with Zohra Khan, I am reminded again of why I am a feminist.

By Isabelle Gentilhomme

Zohra Khan introduces herself as a South African feminist, albeit one who has lived in Europe for the past six years. Within her organization (UK Gender and Development Network) she brings an African development perspective, raising attention among European women who are not facing the same problems as African women might. Yet the point remains: feminists all around the world are different because of the daily challenges we face, but we all share the same aim: equality. We all have different identities, different backgrounds, and different religions, but we also have the same strength that motivates us to wake up every morning. It's our passion for justice.

I think that confronting different feminisms to stress out our differences should be minimized in order to build a strong world feminist movement. As Khan points out, patriarchy is a unified movement present all around the world that we can fight only as a unified block. So, how can we build a strong unified feminist movement? Khan sees the answer in combining social actions of some NGOs with political actions of others. This touches upon the interview with Gigi Francisco, published in Daily Visions yesterday. For Khan, the separation in feminism can be a positive force if all the organizations involved keep in mind that they have to work together.

I confront Khan with the possibility that women’s participation in politics does not necessarily lead to gender equality. Khan confirms this possibility, we have only to look at Sarah Pallin as a politician who does little for women’s empowerment. But Khan also thinks that pushing feminists in political areas will give a better visibility to women. This will slowly change mentalities among populations used to a 'male dominated-system'.

Feminism should be a transversal issue which goes beyond political parties. It has to raise awareness among the younger generation who sometimes feels that nothing further needs to be done for women’s rights. There is a great need for feminism to be addressed in a global way since women are the first to suffer from global crisis.

While I totally agree with Khan, I still feel so small trying to change this unequal world, especially when confronted with people who think I am wasting my time trying to change the world.

But at the end of conversation Zohran Khan asks me to look around. I see around me all these women coming from all around the world to attend the WIDE’s annual conference, talking together, sharing their experiences, and thinking of a common way to change this world. And at that point, I realize I am not alone. This knowledge is the main challenge of feminism and more broadly of women. Our goal is to raise consciousness, so that we can be a powerful group. A group that can easily re-build a 'new Era' based on 'gender equality and social justice'.

Let’s make the most of our differences to improve the life of millions of different women in the world. Let’s give each other the passion to wake up every morning for the rest of our lives!


Isabelle Gentilhomme is a young European feminist (23), starting the last year of her masters degree at ISMaPP (Paris-Brussels). She is also an intern at WIDE.


This article has been published in Daily visions 10-10-2008