Feminism and its Waves:

Since the beginning of time, Man has tried persistently to prove his worth in society. The race for
becoming superior or dominant has rendered society biased or unfair for the week. Gender
inequality is one of the things that has found its roots due to this imbalance. Moreover, this gives
birth to Feminism. The term feminism is used to describe a political, cultural, or economic
movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves
political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference,
as well as a movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's
rights and interests.
The terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the 1970s; they were
already being used in public parlance much earlier. While the roots of Feminism are buried in
ancient Greece, most recognize the movement by the three waves of Feminism. The first feminist
wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s,
and the third extends from the 1990s to the present. Although debated by some, many claims that
a fourth wave of feminism began in 2012. A key component was the use of social media to
highlight and address these concerns.
During much of its history, Middle-class white women from Western Europe and North America
had advocated feminist's movements. But since Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech to American
feminists, women of other races have proposed alternative feminisms. With the Civil Rights
movement in the United States and the collapse of European colonialism in Africa, the
Caribbean, Latin America, and Southeast Asia this trend accelerated in the 1960s. Since that
time, women in former European colonies and the Third World have proposed "Post-colonial"
and "Third World" feminisms. Some Postcolonial Feminists, such as Chandra Talpade Mohanty,
are critical of Western feminism for being ethnocentric. Black feminists, such as Angela Davis
and Alice Walker, share this view.

“I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me
entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself”
― Simone de Beauvoir

First-wave feminism refers to an extended period of feminist activity during the nineteenth
century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. It focused on
equal rights in the property for women and the abolition of chattel marriage, as was the custom
back then, and ownership of women and their children by their husbands. But by the end of the
19th century, the ideology experienced a shift and advocated the political rights of women, such
as women's suffrage. Feminists such as Voltairine de Clayre and Margaret Sanger were still
active in campaigning for women's sexual, reproductive, and economic rights at this time. In
1854, Florence Nightingale established female nurses as adjuncts to the military. The term first
wave was coined retrospectively after the term second-wave feminism began to be used to
describe a newer feminist movement that focused as much on fighting social and cultural
inequalities as political inequalities.
“Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like
gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture
is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking
something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it. We need equality.”
― Joss Whedon

Second-wave feminism refers to the period of activity in the early 1960s and lasting through the
late 1980s. The scholars suggests that the second wave was a continuation of the earlier phase of
feminism involving the suffragettes in the UK and USA. Second-wave feminism has continued
to exist since that time and coexists with what is termed third-wave feminism. The first wave
focused on rights such as suffrage, whereas the second wave was largely concerned with other
issues of equality, such as ending discrimination. Feminists spoke of women as a social class and
coined phrases such as “the personal is political” and “identity politics” in an effort to
demonstrate that race, class, and gender oppression are all related. They initiated a concentrated
effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from children’s cartoons to the highest levels of
government. The successes of the second wave included a more individualistic approach to
feminism, a broadening of issues beyond voting and property rights, and greater awareness of
timely feminist objectives through books and television. However, there were some impactful
political disappointments, as the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) was not ratified by the states,
and second wave feminists were not able to create lasting coalitions with other social
movements.
“Those women who fought the original battles suffer more than most. Hated and opposed
when originally pushing down the barriers, they now often have to face contempt from a
society which takes for granted their achievements.”
― Rosalind Coward
Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s refers to several diverse strains of feminist
activity and study, whose exact boundaries in the history of feminism are a subject of debate.
The movement arose partially as a response to the perceived failures of and backlash against
initiatives and movements created by second-wave feminism. Third wave feminism focus on
identity and the blurring of boundaries, however, did not effectively address many persistent
macro sociological issues such as sexual harassment and sexual assault.
“Now, we are becoming the men we wanted to marry. Once, women were trained to marry
a doctor, not be one.” — Gloria Steinem
Fourth wave feminism is shaped by technology and characterized by the #metoo and the
#timesup movements. Considering that these hashtags were first introduced on Twitter in 2007,
this movement has grown rapidly, as social media activism has spread interest in and awareness
of feminism. Waves of accusations against men in powerful positions—from Hollywood
directors, to Supreme Court justices, to the President of the United States, have catalyzed
feminists in a way that appears to be fundamentally different compared to previous iterations.
The emerging fourth wavers are not just reincarnations of their second wave grandmothers; they
bring to the discussion important perspectives taught by third wave feminism. They speak in
terms of intersectionality whereby women’s suppression can only fully be understood in a
context of the marginalization of other groups and genders—feminism is part of a larger
consciousness of oppression along with racism, ageism, classism, ableism, and sexual
orientation.
It is the silent men, not the loud ones- who permit foulmouthed men to chew me up and spit
me out as I walk down the street.
It is the silent men who could have stopped this, but who didn’t care to, because they were
busy.
It is the silent men who said 'Yes' to violence, and who, in their complicit silence, insisted
that my world would be impenetrably loud.”
― Alice Minium
Among the third wave’s bequests is the importance of inclusion, an acceptance of the sexualized
human body as non-threatening, and the role the internet can play in gender-bending and leveling
hierarchies. Part of the reason a fourth wave can emerge is because these millennials’
articulation of themselves as “feminists” is their own: not a hand-me-down from grandma. The
beauty of the fourth wave is that there is a place in it for all –together. The academic and
theoretical apparatus is extensive and well-honed in the academy, ready to support a new broad-
based activism in the home, in the workplace, in the sphere of social media, and in the streets.
Fourth wave of feminism has also introduced to the world, men as staunch believers of gender
equality. For them, feminism is not just about the equal rights of women in society, but also
equal rights and opportunities for both men and women of a society. It looks at feminism as not
just a movement but a collective effort to make the society grow out of its years of
discrimination and work together to build a sustainable world.
In a world full of people breeding patriarchal mindsets, male feminists have paved the way for a
safe, hopeful and protective society alongside females. Still there is a constant war going on
regarding this particular term that has shook the whole world. And this war was not initiated by
someone in a particular era, but it was present inside of us.
“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will.”
— Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Feminist writers have penned down and expressed their thoughts regarding women’s place in
society for centuries. Even before the first wave of feminism, notable writers were discussing
women empowerment in their writings, that also contributed to the feminist theory and gender
discrimination. Through the writings of these revolutionaries, women’s position in society was
noted. The once weak, uneducated and dependent women/girl was transformed into a strong-
willed, educated and independent women. Women of our society were thought of as an object.
They were not given the right to get proper education, the right to their own bodies, the right to
speak up for themselves or take part in political discourse. This needed to be changed as the
women and their talent could be utilized to reshape the world rather than be shunned inside
houses as seen I many countries, including Pakistan.

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and
they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”

― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Pakistan ranks third-worst – 151 out of 153 – on the Gender Parity Index of the World Economic
Forum (WEF) Pakistan's women literacy is so low that more than five million primary-school-
age girls don't go to school. According to Zoya Rehman, the image of Pakistani womanhood has
been a construction of the Pakistani state since its inception. Pakistani woman, she argues, are
expected to guard their sexuality, are controlled, and can even be murdered in honor killings
when they do not meet cultural expectations.
According to Afiya S. Ziya, this cultural orthodoxy is produced and sponsored by state, the
government, and its agency the ISPR as propaganda engineered to influence the public in its own
pre-decided way, and censor what it considers to be unsuitable. The state, she argues, does not
stop at controlling the national narrative but intrudes public and private life to decide what is
legitimate and permissible as ‘Pakistani culture’ and, what is not.
After independence, elite Muslim women in Pakistan continued to advocate for women's
political empowerment through legal reforms. They mobilized support, leading to the passage of
the Muslim Personal Law of Sharia in 1948, which recognized a woman's right to inherit all
forms of property. There was an attempt to have the government include a Charter of Women's
Rights in the 1956 constitution, but this was unsuccessful. The 1961 Muslim Family Laws
Ordinance covering marriage and divorce, the most important sociolegal reform to have had
Feminist drive in Pakistan, is still widely regarded as empowering to women.
In any conflict area, it is always the women who are the first point of attack. But I think the
more they have seen of oppression and violence, they have gotten more brave, more strong,
more fearless than they were. You see this refusal to just keep quiet and do as you are told.
Fatima Bhutto
Pakistan had also seen waves of feminism since the time of its independence. The first wave was
from 1947-1952. Muslim women were some of the most badly affected victims of Partition. It
was soon after this that Fatima Jinnah formed the Women's Relief Committee, which later
evolved into the All-Pakistan Women's Association. Jinnah later founded a secret radio station,
and, in 1965, came out of her self-imposed political retirement to participate in the presidential
election against military dictator Ayub Khan.
Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan helped the refugees who fled India during partition and also
organized the All-Pakistan Women's Association in 1949, two years after the creation of her
country. Noticing that there were not many nurses in Karachi, Khan requested the army to train
women to give injections and first aid, resulting in the para-military forces for women. Nursing
also became a career path for many girls. She continued her mission, even after her husband was
assassinated in 1951, and became the first female Muslim delegate to the United Nations in
1952.
“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty that
will make for greater purity for them and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty”
-(Qur’an, 24: 30-1)
The end of 1970s heralded a new wave of political Islamisation in many Muslim majority
countries. In Pakistan, the military dictatorial regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq gained power
and initiated the Islamisation of Pakistan. These reforms replaced parts of the British-era
Pakistan Penal Code, making adultery and fornication criminal offences, and introducing the
punishments of whipping, amputation, and stoning to death. The feminist movement in Pakistan
highly opposed this implementation of Islam, which was they believed to be based on an archaic
understanding of Islamic literature, asking instead for liberal modernist interpretation. After
much controversy and criticism, parts of the law were considerably revised by the 2006 Women's
Protection Bill. As a reaction to the form of Zia's Islamisation, many Pakistani women, including
writers, academics, and performers, became active in the opposition of these policies. They
campaigned through various mediums, such as newspaper articles, art, poetry, and song
Pakistan saw its third wave after Zia regime and in Benazir Bhutto's era from 1988-2008 post-
Zia, activists have been able to produce research that has focused on strengthening the political
voice of women, and inclusive democratic governance. They have also produced some of the
first Pakistani research and awareness-raising material on the sexual and reproductive rights of
women, environmental issues, and citizen-based initiatives for peace between India and Pakistan.
The present wave, the fourth wave of feminism in Pakistan, has received a lot of criticism from
different factions. This wave has introduced liberal feminism, that supports LGBTQ+ rights and
marriage, that are strictly prohibited in Islam. It has also raised objections on certain boundaries
that Islam puts on females, like observation of Pardah. These liberal approaches were covered by
social media and were well received internationally which is saddening.
Men are the caretakers of women, as men have been provisioned by Allah over women and
tasked with supporting them financially. And righteous women are devoutly obedient and,
when alone, protective of what Allah has entrusted them with.1 And if you sense ill-conduct
from your women, advise them first, if they persist, do not share their beds, but if they still
persist, then discipline them ˹gently˺.2 But if they change their ways, do not be unjust to
them. Surely Allah is Most High, All-Great.
- (Quran 4:34)
We live in Islamic republic of Pakistan and to see it practicing non-Islamic ideologies is
disturbing. Liberals in Pakistan are adopting western cultures, not knowing anything about their
religion and accepting only the parts of Quran that covers their benefit. On the other hand,
Islamic scholars, interpreters of Islam and Madaras are also losing its place in society. Pakistan is
facing its worst social depravity in the form of molesting kids in Madaras and wrong
interpretation of Islam by extremist Mullah factions. The balance is long lost and the state has
failed to control the upbringing of fake mullahs and desi liberals who are spreading moral
corruption, anti-Islamic thoughts and teachings. The West has raised the status of its women and
empowered it by breaking all the shackles and baseless norms it once observed. Still the women
in the western society are fighting for their rights. The increasing number of rape culture,
injustice and misogyny are some factors they are still fighting against. While in Pakistan, the
people are not only fighting against these factors but also fighting the mis-understood notion of
Islam. The need of the moment is that the State takes serious actions against people who are
trying to inculcate false interpretation of Islam in the minds of youth plus enforce the right
shariah and law in Country so that people will know that Islam is not the religion of men, but it is
the only religion that has empowered women and raised her status.