Because we have been born into a society,

A culture, a country or a great continent…

That has hidden women in labelled compartments,

That has women as a support and a mere accessory,

As a footnote under-represented in history,

Under the control and dominion of that which is called ‘man’.

Because of the structures that have been built,

On the unequal founding of our forebearers,

On the discriminatory privileges that man has inherited…

That a woman has a limited set of accepted functions,

Like childcare and housework,

A property that can be traded and bartered.

Because humans still have some primal instincts of animals,

With the old thinking that the strong should overwhelm the weak,

That physically stronger means being superior,

That physically weaker means being naturally at mercy…

The unequal status quo of men and women has been established —

Making it acceptable to abuse and mistreat women.

Because of the dominance of the physically stronger sex,

The inheritance of self-perpetuating inequalities,

The indoctrination of women into the substance of ‘man’.

The lack of understanding of discrimination in our languages,

The objectification of women for sensual consumption,

And the industries that profits from these discriminations.

Because of all these things… we can wake up to our world of sexism,

We can wake up to the discrimination of so many women…

The messy world that is still full of so many manly sign-posts,

Man-made labels that allows the discrimination of countless women,

Social norms that signals that sexism is still quite acceptable,

That women are already lucky and somehow should be more grateful.

— Luan Dinh

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