Teenage girls are finding themselves. Finding out what they like, where they want to go for school and what career path to follow. However, high school girls aren’t supported and recognized as much as they should be. They need to feel empowered and inspired towards reaching their goals, no matter what.
My high school is great. It’s an amazing safe space where diversity is celebrated. However, over the last few weeks, I realized that not much was done towards encouraging women in general. After discussing it with my friends, it was evident that we shared the same belief. We had to make a change.
This month, we worked together to organize a Female Empowerment Club at our school. At first, we were afraid that our administration wouldn’t approve of it, due to misconceptions on feminism. Later, we were ecstatic to know that not only was our club proposal approved, but we also had the support of countless staff and students.
We were partially inspired by the presence of our school’s first female principal. But it got me thinking, why are most teachers women, but most principals men? Our principal was the first female in the 100+ years our school has been open, and it truly opened our eyes to a change being made towards putting women in authority positions.
When our club was approved, we were told that a teacher was interested in being our staff advisor. When we spoke to her, she told us how she had been waiting for so long for girls to start a club, and how she was over the moon about the idea.
However, my friends and I wanted a second staff advisor, and we knew exactly who to ask. We asked a teacher that we all knew from previous years, whether it be working with her in another club, or being in her class. She was teacher that not only valued teaching the content of the class, but also discussing issues in society. She genuinly cared about her students, and we thought she would be an amazing addition to the club. We were right.
When we began advertising our meeting on Facebook, we immediately received some backlash from other students. They were unaware what our club stood for and made false assumption that our club wanted to “bash” men. What this person didn’t know, was that female empowerment does not necessarily mean bringing men down.
After conducting our first meeting, we realized that the effort was worth it. We had so many students come, (both males and females) who believed in the same issues as us. It was in that moment that I realized, that not only did my friends and I believe in addressing gender equality, but there were countless others who had a voice.
With the amazing turn-out, and impact that our club had on individuals, it’s important for schools to address female empowerment and feminism. If your school has a Female Empowerment or Feminism club, join it! If not, grab a group of friends, and be the change.
Image credit: Melissa Blake
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