I'm proud to be a feminist because making sure that everyone

The words of Justin Trudeau, “I’m proud to be a feminist because making sure that everyone understands we all have a role in fighting for equality is the only way to move forward,” are a call not just to women, but to all humankind. They resound like the voice of an elder at the gates of civilization, reminding us that progress is not born from division, but from shared responsibility. In these words lies the echo of an ancient truth: that justice and peace cannot dwell in a world where half of its people are silenced, nor can strength grow where compassion is denied its place.

To be a feminist, as Trudeau declares, is not to wage war between genders, but to restore harmony between them. It is to recognize that the divine spark — the capacity for reason, courage, and love — burns equally in every human soul. The ancients spoke of the balance of masculine and feminine forces, of the sun and the moon, of fire and water. One without the other brings ruin; together, they sustain life. So too with society: when women and men rise together in dignity and purpose, civilization ascends toward wisdom. When one is oppressed, the world itself limps forward, unbalanced and weary.

In his statement, Trudeau stands in the long lineage of those who understood that equality is not a gift but a duty. History remembers Frederick Douglass, who though born into slavery, became not only a voice for his people but also a champion of women’s rights. When he stood at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, among Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, he proclaimed that no movement for justice could succeed unless it embraced all humanity. His courage bridged two struggles — racial and gender equality — and revealed a timeless truth: oppression is one body with many faces, and to defeat one, we must confront them all.

To say that “everyone has a role in fighting for equality” is to reject the poison of apathy. It is to remind every heart that silence in the face of injustice is itself a form of consent. The march toward equality is not the burden of the oppressed alone — it is the sacred work of the free, the powerful, and the privileged. In ancient times, kings who sought glory without justice saw their empires crumble from within. But rulers who upheld fairness, like the wise Ashoka of India, whose heart was transformed by compassion, built peace that outlasted their own reigns. So too must modern leaders and citizens understand that true strength lies in empathy and action, not dominance.

There is a deeper beauty in Trudeau’s words — a pride not born from arrogance, but from unity. To be “proud to be a feminist” is to declare allegiance to the better angels of our nature. It is to stand with mothers, sisters, and daughters, but also with fathers and sons who seek a gentler, wiser world. Pride in this sense is not separation, but belonging — belonging to a lineage of souls who believe that equality is not a dream to be spoken, but a labor to be lived.

Yet the road to equality, like all noble journeys, demands vigilance. There will be those who mock the cause, who call it unnecessary or extreme, who wish to turn back time. But as every sage has taught, progress moves only in one direction — forward. Those who resist it are like men trying to stop the tide with their hands. Equality is the destiny of the human spirit, and those who embrace it early become the architects of the future.

Let this, then, be the lesson to future generations: do not wait for others to fight the battles that belong to all. In your home, in your work, in your speech, let respect be your law and fairness your weapon. Teach your sons to listen, and your daughters to speak without fear. Stand against injustice not only when it harms you, but when it harms another. For as Trudeau reminds us, the only way to move forward is together, each soul carrying the torch of equality through the long night until all may walk in the light.

And when that dawn comes — when men and women stand side by side, equal not in power alone but in purpose — humanity will at last fulfill its promise. That is the beauty of feminism: not the triumph of one over another, but the awakening of us all.