Jasmine Howey

Tonight we shall rise

Take my hand and we will dive

Head first into the deep end

We are woman through thick and thin

We will stand by allies

We will cry for those who don't survive

Hold our equality in our arms and don't allow anyone to

try and over power our voices

The world will be filled of galleries showing the empowerment

We created the platform we sculpted for the generations below

To build up civilisations of young leaders to continue the path of power!

But what if I walk into the spotlight and be shunned away for a man more privileged than me?

What if I take a leap into the world and realize I'm not ready?

We are strong! 

We will over take and create new roles

You're a mayor 

I’m a prime minister

You’re a lover not a fighter

I will fight for love…

Men have been expected to live in fear of their emotions for decades

The idea of masculinity has become so toxic

For men to be men they are expected to fall under a category

For men to have a say they must wear what society has placed as a expectation to all

Men must not wear anything remotely “girly” as they will be seen as weak

Men must not shed a tear for a fallen friend as they will seen as frail

Sure it is normal,

But they have been brought up to see is that human emotions are clearly sickly 

Linked to a deadly disease they call empathy

Boys will be boys

There is so much stigma around this saying

It's typically used to justify an action placed by a kid who “knew no different”

But it's simple

The rules have been placed out for you

You have been brought up with the morals

A boy who tries to overpower a woman's rights is simply only ever going to be a boy and never man

The goal of gender equality is stated in the United Nations Website as SDG Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”

But this is goal is set towards only woman and girls, 

which confuses me as it's not named female equality but instead named gender equality 

This technically means all genders and labels 

The word feminism has been so easily overlooked in the industry, 

When people think feminism they think of women overpowering men, 

But that is simply not the case 

Feminism is the belief that EVERYONE is equal no matter their gender or label

New Zealand is filled of ambitious young girls and boys

Ready to stand up for what is right

But our country doesn't have to stand up as much 

We are the closest to basic human rights,

The first country for woman to vote

The top 10 in gender equality,

And of course as of 2017 we had covered 79% of all gender pay gaps 

That is astonishing,

Men have been traditionally more in the spotlight, and more powerful, more closed off from their own emotions, 

But why?

Modern day society has been engraving this expectation into the mind of those at any age, 

A man is simply never allowed to cry because they have been convinced that's not masculine,

A woman supposably belongs in the kitchen, 

Children aren't allowed to worry over the small things because they must stay young, 

but god forbid you ask a question as you need to grow up and get a job

We are all equal is what everyone says B

ut who is actively making a difference unless they put on a parade? 

We may see a small change here and there in this world 

But overall I don't see the point in trying if we will always be overpowered by someone more privileged and more elite, 

I may be a teenage girl with a dream, 

but our society has been raised to believe that we have been defeated.

Gender equality is also about the LGBTQIA+ community 

Many genders and labels are overlooked, 

the entire community has been shunned by our society because there are so many close minded people in our country 

Most LGBTQIA+ members are afraid to speak about their own identity,

There are currently 112 labels in the world and counting, 

There is also some labeless people who dont fall apart under any labels which is 100% ok, us as New Zealanders need to realize that to accept doesn’t meant to erase

Gender equality means ALL genders and labels, 

There have been recent progress on that matter with New Zealand having pride parades among the streets which now signify growth in our community,

but not enough growth to see a difference

Not enough growth to see our environment change, 

Not enough growth at all...

So if we are this progresive country we claim,

Why do we have so many elders stuck in their times? 

They claim it was so much different in their days, but in reality it's not different at all 

We still have the same issues, we still have the same flaws, 

we still have the same unresolved problems

But to every negative we have a positive, 

New Zealand now has a female prime minister

Jacinda Ardern, 

who is fighting to make this country a more inclusive and equal environment for people far and wide to move to for a better future.

We are all human in the end of the day 

Why are we so closed off from the idea of equal pay?

New Zealand is becoming more and more progressive as the days turn to night 

But we still have kiwis putting up a fight 

Saying they don't want equality 

But instead want reality to be seen as the dream they have filtered in their mind 

So they claim we already have equality…

Clearly they have been blinded by mankind.