By the time this is published, election day will be over, but I hope everyone who could took the chance to vote.
What does this have to do with feminism? Easy—it wasn’t that long ago that the female population wasn’t even allowed to vote. I can’t be more frustrated thinking this could still be a thing today, where my voice wouldn’t count, but my labour and giving to society would be taken. How did these women feel being neglected? Well, it can be easy when you grow up in a male-dominated system to not even question the rules made by men.
Not taking the right to vote is pretty much a statement that you will accept anything that someone else is deciding for you. As if I would put porridge in front of you for dinner, because I decided it for you. Yes, I know, this is ridiculous, but doesn’t it make it feel you helpless when thinking of it? It makes me feel helpless, and it must have made a portion of females back in the days before they could vote feel helpless, too.
It was only in 1916 when Manitoba allowed women to vote, becoming the first province to do so; the last province to let women vote was Quebec in 1940. That’s almost 25 years in between those dates—by way of comparison, that’s a student’s life from birth to first degree, and then a few years on top of that, if you go to post-secondary right after high school—for things to change. Why does it always take so long to make a change in society?
And, not only that, but there were also only men you could vote for, as if it was a given right to make the rules when you are male. This assumption is still deeply anchored within most of us, which is interestingly confusing because most of us grew up in families where the female leads the family, and usually successfully, right?
Isn’t it time for a change? Female-ruled countries are working well: just take a glimpse over to New Zealand or Germany. Or, even better: in Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—who is a great inspiration—got elected in 2005 by 80 percent of the female voting population, because they were simply sick of civil war.
So if every single woman gives her vote and makes her voice count, we actually can change things. Sirleaf—or Ellen, as she is called by many—says that we can achieve more female leaders when we change the stereotype. So let’s force a change to female leaders. Let’s break institutions, which are still mostly ruled by men.
And let’s not only focus on the top, but get females in all kinds of decision-making positions in daily life. Let’s make a change, ladies (and gentlemen, and everyone else)! I’m looking forward to it for the late 2020s.