Female empowerment has become a popular discussion topic along with development and economics. Women’s empowerment refers to women’s ability to enjoy their rights and to control their own lives without the need of someone to financially support them.

Many marches organized by women and feminist groups have been developed to support fellow females and to participate in the rights we have. Unfortunately, sometimes feminists and female support groups get a bad reputation.

As far as bad views on feminists go, I don’t think there’s a particular side to blame. If there’s an issue, I think both sides have faults of some kind.

Believe it or not, there are still people in the world who’d rather live in the medieval times when women had no rights and were around to simply bear children and take care of their husbands. These people need to get out of the past and immerse themselves in the present.

Believe it or not, sometimes feminists can be rude or unfair to men. As a fellow woman, I have indeed made mistakes just like any other human being on Earth.

I have witnessed events and heard stories in which even the simplest etiquettes in public have been referred to as “sexist.” For instance, my uncle opened a door for a woman to be polite, when the woman curled her lip and hissed that she “didn’t need a man to open a door for her.”

As a polite human being, I always hold the door open for others, whether they be man or woman. These simple actions of societal etiquette shouldn’t be gendered.

Being an independent woman means being able to support yourself. Independence is all about being a strong individual who can rely on themselves for most of their needs.

However, sometimes I have spoken to fellow women or heard fellow women speaking of female independence as if it means swearing off men entirely or that if a woman enters a relationship with a man, it hints that she isn’t a true independent woman.

This isn’t true in the slightest. An independent woman means that a woman doesn’t need a man in order to accomplish her goals and to fulfill her needs, not swear away men or shun them.

Another thing I have noticed is that some girls claim maintaining a physically tough image all the time is how a true independent woman should be. That would mean if ladies were true “independent women,” they would not submit themselves to wearing cute skirts and pretty dresses.

Again, this is untrue. A woman’s manner of independence has nothing to do with what she wears. Her independence shines through her personality and the way she handles things, not through whatever outfit or hairstyle she wears.

Female empowerment is wonderful and amazing. It shows how far humans have evolved and how our society is so much closer to achieving true equality and perhaps even peace.

However, sometimes people take it too far. Independence is about standing up for yourself and taking control over your own life. It doesn’t mean dressing a certain way or treating a different gender or race with hostility. Although I myself am a woman and will not stand for discrimination of any kind, I believe that all humans are equal and need to be treated with the same amount of respect.

You can be independent and still want to be in relationships and dress whatever way you wish. Independence isn’t about maintaining a specific image, it’s about living for yourself and doing things your way.