It was just after five in the afternoon when my phone rang. On the other end was the TV presenter.
The reason? A post on my personal (and private) Facebook account. A text that wasn’t meant to offend her or the chief editor of the evening programme, but rather to highlight, through their example, the responsibilities we have as women in modern times.
The post (criticising former footballer’s Costas Malekkos sexist remarks regarding womens position in society on Alpha TV) began with a common, everyday example from Cypriot society – a society that even today teeters between two worlds, still unable to fully shake off its patriarchal past and embrace its future with an open mind. A woman had proved incapable of handling a minor traffic accident, needlessly prolonging everyone’s inconvenience until she could get her husband’s help to sort out the paperwork.
Having grown up in a matriarchal family without strong patriarchal influences in my wider environment, I certainly shouldn’t try to ‘lecture’ a woman from an entirely different background than mine. Instead, I should simply identify and point out mistakes where I believe it’s useful to do so. In this case, I wanted to address the issue of our autonomy. This isn’t something we can ever be complacent about – it’s a daily and often difficult battle against comfort zones, prevailing norms, and the role of man as leader.
Because feminism isn’t about treating women as helpless, fragile beings who need special treatment and protection. When we talk about feminism in 2024, we’re talking about equality. Complete equality. Equal rights and responsibilities. Independence. Freedom. Financial self-determination.
When we stand against patriarchy, we’re fighting for the freedom that allows a woman to set her own life rules. To wear what she wants, behave as she pleases, refuse to tolerate misogynistic behaviour (or humour) from guests, colleagues, partners or bosses, and to handle independently not just a traffic accident, but her own body. To decide for herself whether to keep her pregnancy, to wake up in whichever bed she chooses each morning, and to close the door behind her when she can’t take it anymore – whether she’s in an abusive relationship or simply because that’s what she wants. Without being accountable to a man or society, let alone to some ridiculous ex-footballer who threatens that “he’ll kill her if she does it”. Accountable only to herself.
These are the freedoms we take to the streets for, these are the freedoms we chant slogans about against patriarchy, and these are the freedoms for which we’ll never stop demanding equality.
Until the very last woman in this land who feels suffocated in her own life can say, “I’m leaving – this fairy tale isn’t for me.”
