Feminism or Feminazi: A Choice from SDG Goal 5

By Devyani Verma

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as laid out by the United Nations and built on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, focus on a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development for all. One such goal, as laid out in the United Nations SDGs, is Gender Equality.

What is Goal 5
The 5th goal, being Gender Equality, aims not only at improving the condition for women in the society, but also providing equality to all genders. It also focuses at improving the social and economic position of women while also uplifting the status of men, otherwise known as Feminism.

What is Feminism
“It is often noticed that when the term ‘feminism’ is brought up, people not only criticize the concept but also express hatred towards it. In order to understand the root cause of this dislike, we must go back to the definition of the term,” shares Akanksha Sharma, professor of Economics, Commerce and English.

According to Oxford Dictionary, ‘Feminism’ is a noun for the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of sexes. In other words, a feminist is a person who uplifts the status of women while also respecting and working for the betterment of men.
Feminist vs Feminazi

A study by Forbes shows that most people confuse ‘Feminist’ for an aggressive individual who brings the status of women up by bringing that of men down - in other words, a Feminazi.
A few common traits, which distinguish between a feminist and a feminazi are:
1 Feminists proceed with a calm and processed thinking. Feminazis jump to conclusions, and act irrationally and aggressively
2 Feminists understand the sentiments of the other sexes and work towards equality, realising and respecting that neither of the genders are ‘same’
3 Feminists not only work for the betterment of women, but also men

“Feminist is as positive as a Feminazi is negative,” says Sakshi Rastogi, a freshman of BA Journalism and Mass Communications at Bennett University, adding, “Earlier, I was disillusioned into believing that a Feminist is a person who wants to control the world and bring men down. That is what everyone said, so I assumed that that’s what the fuss was about.”

She shares her experience with the term, stating how exploring the word gave her better insights: “Looking it up on the dictionary may have just opened my eyes. Now I am a feminist and proud of it. What I am not, however, is a Feminazi. I hope more people realise this difference and stand by it.”