We should all be feminists. That’s it, that’s the major takeaway. Without reminding you that women and girls make up half the world’s population, or appealing to your morality or theology by telling you we are all God’s creations and thus equally special and important in His eyes, I endeavour to convince you that feminism is the way and the truth this March, and all year round.

Feminism is the name given to a number of theories and ideologies centered on the belief that human beings – male or female – are equal, and that as such, women must have equal rights. For anyone wondering, women’s history and women’s empowerment is celebrated because of a divisive past wherein women were not considered, nor were they treated as, equal to their male counterparts. For centuries women had made vital contributions at home, at work, and for the good of the general public, that had been largely ignored, discredited or deliberately wrongly attributed to men, but as a result of the work of women and women-allies, women now enjoy many of the same rights as men.

Fast forward many marches, essays, and corner shop arguments later and stop. Women get to drive, vote, go to school and work in most places the world over. But women are still not given equal consideration for many jobs they are capable of doing and are qualified to do, and are not paid fairly or equally in many of the cases where they do get the job. That is to say nothing of the ‘mansplaining’, sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination many women face on the job. Women are talked down to, attacked and abused (verbally, emotionally and physically); harassed and then vilified for reacting. Subtly, or not-so-subtly sexist traditions still continue and more often than not, boys and girls are still pit against each other from an early, tender stage, teaching them (incorrectly, I might add) that we are destined to be competitors and one must be ‘better’ than the other.

Now, strides have certainly been made, but there is further to go. After all, when Dr Martin Luther King Jr said he’d been to the mountaintop and he’d seen I don’t think he was talking about women remaining consistent second class citizens to men. But I digress. The month of March is celebrated as Women’s History Month and you’d be surprised what you might be able to learn from a quick Google search or scrolling through the posts under the tag #WomensMonth on Twitter. Get into it. Educate yourself. Fall in love with the life story of a woman you’d never heard of before. Start caring about a cause bigger than yourself or your group of friends.

And before everyone dusts off their pro-women hats and pins in anticipation of International Women’s Day this Friday, please consider dropping the patronizing smile and simper. Women are faced with real issues every day, some I’ve mentioned above and some I myself cannot begin to understand and put in words. Rather than merely feigning interest, consider instead being an honest to goodness feminist and an ally. Does that mean you have to agree with every single thing done or said in the name of feminism? No. I’ve said before that feminism is a movement based on varying ideologies and theories, meaning, anyone’s take on it is more or less their own.

Why do feminists come across as bitter, man-haters? / Will I have to be one of those feminists? Well, why are some people tall or fat while others are short or skinny? Because we’re all different, that’s why. And while some feminists might come across as world-weary misandrists, I assure you that’s a whole other secret society and not at all what feminism is about at its core. Regardless, join the movement and show others a new take on the face and attitude of feminism. You don’t have to be anyone but yourself or think anything but what you think, plus the belief that we’re all equal.

Anne Frank once said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” And Beyoncé once said, “Okay, ladies now let’s get in formation.”

Women and women-allies, let’s get in formation. Happy Women’s History Month to all.