Thoughts on Marriage

It's nothing new for us feminists to talk about marriage. Lately, I've started to think, partly due to what I've observed frequently on social media and in my life, about the emphasis placed on being a wife and a mother. I've begun to wonder: Haven't we moved beyond this discussion since the time of suffragettes a century ago? I find it amusing that, even in this century, we still feel the need to talk about women's freedom and its correlation with marriage. I feel compelled to raise my voice, just as those before me have done.

There is a saying among women: "You should be thankful that we want equality, not revenge." We are warriors from the moment we are born, fighting for our freedom and basic rights. We endure pain, periods, labor, and then menopause-it's in our genetics. Marriage, it seems, is an institution designed to control women, to make them captive and slaves. Is it so wrong for us to ask not to marry? Not to waste our lives on a man and children? To live freely according to our will? To do whatever we want? Why do people perceive women who simply want to live their lives as evil? Why do the elderly encourage us to marry early? Why label us as "spinsters" if we don’t? Can't we just be ourselves? Why don't we have the same rights as men? Do we have some missing parts? I believe we have more than they have. We are creators; create humans in our bodies. What more needs to be said? Are we incomplete? Do we need a man to complete us? Did you know that married women are often unhappy? Then why are we constantly pressured to marry and have kids? This is my body, not society's. I am the one who gets to choose. I will decide and run my life. I won't bow to men, patriarchy, or society. I will protect the legacy of women; I won't stop until all women are free. Even if some women try to stand in my way, it's fine. I will make them understand. Women are stronger together, and once they understand, nothing will stand in our way. And I know I cannot change everything overnight.

It's alright to marry, but I care about "our" decisions. If I decide to marry or have kids, I will. But I won't let others force me to do so. Men always disrespect our decisions, the way we think, and who we are, making fun of us through social media, and imitating us as a funny thing. Guess what? Just imitating us isn't funny. Why don't they imitate one another? I bet it would be much funnier. I know they look down on us. In the movie "Barbie," a character says, "Patriarchy is still there; we are just better at hiding it." I know that's the case. They need to be taught that we are their equals. Indeed, they need us; after all, that's why they want to marry.

I won't bow. I will fight for women’s rights even if some don't want this. I won't stop until all of us are free.