I’m so tired of being asked whether I’m going to have children and start a family, when I tell people I want to become a reporter in Asia. They say that it’s not possible to travel with kids and, besides, first I need to find a man who is willing to deal with a woman like me. Are men also asked such questions?
I’m so tired of my grandmother telling me that I should live my life now, because when I have children my dreams will come to an end. She is proud of the things I’m doing, but I should focus on reality.
I’m so tired of seeing sexist ads in my daily life, which sell my gender like a product. Women are sexy, women have long hair, women desperately want to be a mother, women want to have a career, they should make the most of their opportunities, because such opportunities have never been more promising than now. And of course, women don’t get old.
I’m so tired of having a dream which is met with resistance from society. Sometimes the critical voice of societal expectations whispers to me and skepticism arises. Should I do what they are expecting? Am I wrong about my dreams and plans? Are they doomed to fail?
No, they aren’t! – It’s just the perfidious voice of society trying to trick me.
I appreciate living in a country like Germany. Compared to other countries, women here have more rights and our society takes care of them. But not as much as I want it to. The pay gap between men and women is still about 22%, women must juggle between their family and job, they feel uncomfortable when they want to train in the free weight area in the gym – at least, it’s the impression that my friends and I get.
I’m so tired of the Western world pointing its finger at developing countries which don’t support women the way we do. “See what we have achieved in our society! You are far behind!” they are saying. Sure, it’s important to highlight these problems, but it seems to me that they want to hide our own issues in the shadow of these accusations.
With this attitude we won’t get further!
We should respect and honor the past achievements of male and female feminists by continuing to work on gender inequality issues. My view on this matter is that of an intersectional feminism – one which fights for both - men and women. Hand in hand rather than against each other. It’s a matter of mutual appreciation.
We shouldn’t get stuck in the complacency of the achievement of women’s suffrage.
I believe that my hopes will become a reality one day, when most of society is calling:
We are so tired of it!
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