Moving Beyond the Heroic Narrative in Women's Rights Discourse

In the discourse surrounding women's rights and feminism, we repeatedly hear praise for the strong, the heroic, the fighters, the warriors, and the inspiring women among us. These are the narratives that dominate our discussions, the stories we hold up as examples of empowerment and resilience. But what about the others?

What about those who are weakened by the suffering they endure, those who do not survive it? Are they to be labelled as weak? This notion of strength and weakness is a construct that serves to burden women further, placing the responsibility for their situation squarely on their shoulders rather than on the oppressors.

I believe it's time to acknowledge all women deserve to be safe and treated equally, regardless of their perceived strength or resilience. I, for one, am exhausted by the endless stream of empowerment speeches that fail to hold those responsible for the systemic issues to account.

Instead of placing the burden on women to be strong, let's direct our focus towards dismantling the systems of oppression that perpetuate inequality and injustice. Let's shift the narrative away from praising individual resilience and towards collective action against those responsible for creating and perpetuating these injustices.

This post deviates from my usual content, but after reflection, I felt compelled to share these thoughts as I believe they might offer valuable insights to some 💜