Nuha Uddin (Y10): Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge speech
(The Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge is a programme managed and delivered by Speakers Trust, the UK’s leading public speaking organisation. The aim is to amplify young people’s voices by building confidence, developing skills and creating platforms for young people to share their stories. Nuha Uddin, a Year 10 WA student, took part in a workshop and delivered this speech below)
Modern Feminism is not effective.
Imagine a world where women from all across the world have equal opportunities as men. You may think “Oh but we’ve already achieved that''. Unfortunately that cliche is not the case.
What is the first thing you think of when you hear “feminism”? For me, I think of the suffragettes. Women’s suffrage was the first wave of feminism that dates back to 1800s America. The Second wave of feminism was back in the 1960s when women challenged typical gender roles. Third wave was in the 1990s when women talked about sexual harassment.
We are in the fourth wave. Nowadays I see influencers dyeing their body hair the colour of the rainbow and claim it’s an act of “feminism”. Did we as a society go from advocating for basic rights to Instagramming body hair?
Meanwhile, 58% of women of colour are in poverty meaning they cannot access basic sanitary products. When I went to Bangladesh, I was confused as to why my female cousins couldn’t use pads or tampons. When they asked for them, they were shamed, ridiculed and called disgusting.
Before we fight for expressing individuality, let’s not forget about our underprivileged sisters. A true feminist talks about women globally. They think about the girls who cannot get an education, they think about the women who are suffering in conflict and cannot get simple sanitary products. They think about the women who are literally treated like second class citizens.
We’ve all heard Emma Watson’s speech ‘he for she’ but what about ‘she for she’? This isn’t just about black women, white women or asian women. This is about ALL women. Women should support other women. That is true feminism.
Nuha Uddin (Y10)