____________*****____________

Sound Version

To listen to the voice version of the following text Please click here

____________*****____________

Today the world is celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD). It’s being celebrated by women every year for over a century now. What for?

Is the Feminism movement going in any direction?

IWD was started to end the discrimination against the fairer sex – women, to strengthen gender equality in our society. Patriarchal society has always been discriminative against the weaker and minority section. Helpless, powerless and vulnerable are often dominated, harassed and exploited by stronger section. This is the basic principle in the formation of patriarchal mindset against women, children and animals.

But Is Women The Only Female Who Is Discriminated & Exploited In This World?

When we name this day as “Women’s” day, it doesn’t encompass feminism as a whole. The term women doesn’t represent all females. Further, “feminism” itself as it is understood today, isn’t at all an inclusive movement. Aside women, men & trans-gender people too can be a feminist.

Going by the logic, Animal Rights is also an feminist issue. Feminism is a movement that fights against the way patriarchy dominates on the vulnerable and weaker section to meet their own selfish desires & interests. All farmed animals too belong to this section. Billions of farm animals are bred every year violating the reproductive system of female animals and then snatching away their offspring from them. Motherhood is ashamed every second on this planet.

Women & Animals Are Both Objectified

Women are looked down upon as sex objects and are exploited to meet the sexual desires of men. They are treated and kept merely as some object of desire and are valued on the basis of their bodies. Same goes with all farmed animals. World's most harassed, tortured, raped and murdered beings are female farmed animals. They are sexually abused on a regular basis to hatch or breed more and more offspring. They are captivated, raised, beaten, harassed, raped and slaughtered to serve the interest of humans. All their life is one big constant suffering and then finally meet an untimely and horrendous death. All their lives they are treated as some inanimate objects. Are they any better or worse than women?

Women & Animals Are Both Rape Victims

Just as women are treated as sex objects and often raping is normalized by using clichés like “boys will be boys”; animals too are made victims of forced breeding. In fact, factory farming has institutionalize the raping of female non-human beings. Forced sex and a life of repeated rape and perpetual pregnancies is a norm in animal agriculture today. The industry is so insensitive and shameless that they have actually termed the device used for restraining animals for artificial insemination as “Rape Racks”. This is how they have normalized the word rape itself.

Women & Animals Are Both Vulnerable

Just as women find themselves insecure and helpless when attacked or harassed by men, animals too are incapable of defending themselves. They both silently suffer all their life. In fact, animals can’t even express themselves or raise their voice for their rights as women can do. So they are more vulnerable and need more support & protection from the people who victimize them.

Motherhood Is Important To Both Women & Animals

Motherhood is undervalued as only working professionals and people who earn money are respected in our society. House wives are taken for granted. Performing household tasks and motherhood ain’t even considered any “work”. But do you know any other bond stronger than motherhood?

Female animals exhibit a strong bonding with their children. But eggs and chicks are taken away in 24-48 hours from their mothers. Calves are taken away in a few days from their mother, so that all her milk could be stolen for humans. But all mothers feel and exhibit the pain of separation. Alas, they are helpless creatures and can do nothing about it! Who will seek the justice for innocent beings?

Sexism vs. Speciesism

Segmented Views Of Women & Animals Are Promoted

By this, I mean how we objectify both women and animals on similar grounds. We don’t even treat them as an individual. We use women as sex objects and often advertisements projecting them focus on some part of them like their breasts, her legs, cleavage, lips, inner thighs etc. without revealing any facial identity. Similarly, animal body parts are presented to you in a packing in the shelves of departmental stores or on your meal plate as meat. Your brain can’t connect with the meat in that moment in a way that it was part of a living sentient animal just before being turned into a meat.

Just as “sexism” is stereotyping or discriminating against a sex, “speciesism” is a discrimination on the basis of species. The idea that animals exist for our consumption is similar to women exist for male-pleasure.

There Can’t Be A Non-Vegan Feminist

If you are a feminist, you ought to go vegan for the sake of feminism. Discrimination is discrimination whether it’s against a gender, a species, a race, caste or colour. The one who discriminate women on the basis of sex and the one who discriminate animals on the basis of their species has got the same oppressive mindset. All discrimination is based on the same belief system, “they are different from us, so why should we care for them?”

Feminism is about equality, justice and fundamental rights. Feminism is about respecting the existence of even vulnerable and weak. Feminism is against the violent systems of oppression.

I can't understand, how a feminist can be an accomplice in harassing, oppressing, raping and murdering an animal to serve her palate pleasure? How can a feminist be so insensitive for the rights of other vulnerable beings?

Unless and until, feminism become an inclusive movement, discrimination and violence can never end. So this is a call to ALL FEMINIST TO GO VEGAN!

***********