Welcome to the age of post-ism. Racism is over, ageism is over, classism is over and so is sexism too, or at least this is popular thought. However, feminism is needed more now than ever and yet our feminist movement is beginning to eerily reflect the sort of attitudes we should be striving against, and at times blatantly demonstrating racist and illiberal attitudes. Feminists have in the past seemed ill at ease with the religious, who have in some cases campaigned against abortions and gay marriage – the cornerstones it could be argued of modern feminist achievement. However with more dangers against women from the state than ever before, how can Western feminism become more inclusive of minority values, and in turn the religious? First we must reflect on what feminism has always been about – was it to focus solely on the individual of the day or to empower women to be able to make decisions about themselves, for themselves? Focusing on a specific religious action with little understanding of context can cause unnecessary divides, whereas uniting on common ground such as wage disparity, maternity rights, and homelessness is plain common sense. Women: the all too often disproportional victims [...]
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