I think a vast majority of younger men are feminists.
AMANZIMTOTI, SOUTH AFRICA: This is with reference to your editorial of March 8 titled “Women of the world”. Equality of women cannot be achieved with nice editorials, especially when macho attitudes are part of our culture. Men can get away with anything and women must shut up and be ordered to serve men. Two aspects are important for empowering women. The first is that they should be free to go wherever they want to without permission from men and the second is that all employers must be asked to employ women as a certain percentage of the workforce. This figure does not have to be 50 per cent, anything above 10 per cent should be considered acceptable. Only economic empowerment emancipates individuals and this applies to women as well as men.
The men I know are happy to espouse the feminist cause because they see equality as something that fundamentally appeals to their sense of fair play. I think a vast majority of younger men are feminists: Men who believe without equivocation that women should be treated equally and without fear or favour. This probably is the result of them having confidence in themselves as individuals.
Sharif Lone
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2011.
