There's many women now who think, 'Surely we don't need feminism

Hear the fiery words of Yoko Ono, artist and activist, who declared: “There’s many women now who think, ‘Surely we don’t need feminism anymore, we’re all liberated and society’s accepting us as we are.’ Which is just hogwash. It’s not true at all.” These words, blunt and unyielding, carry within them the voice of warning, the cry of vigilance. For she speaks not only of progress gained, but of the danger of forgetting that the struggle is not yet finished.

The meaning is clear: though strides have been made, though doors once locked are now opened, the chains of inequality have not vanished. To believe that feminism is no longer needed is to fall into a dangerous sleep, to mistake the dawn for the day, the partial victory for the final triumph. Society, though it has bent in some places, still resists in others. Old prejudices remain, hidden like roots beneath the soil, ready to choke again if not pulled out entirely.

History testifies to this truth. Consider the suffragettes of the early 20th century, who fought for the right of women to vote. When that right was won, many thought the battle over, the work complete. Yet decades later, women still struggled for equal pay, for protection against violence, for representation in halls of power. The vote was not the end, but only a beginning. Ono’s words echo this history: every gain must be guarded, every step forward must be followed by another, else the ground will be lost again.

She speaks also to the subtle traps of complacency. Women today may walk in universities, may lead companies, may stand in parliaments. Yet, behind the curtain, there remains imbalance: wages unequal, voices silenced, burdens of care disproportionately borne. To say “we are liberated” while such injustices persist is, as Ono says, hogwash—a dangerous illusion that blinds the eyes of the present and betrays the struggles of the past.

The ancients, too, understood the danger of false peace. The Greeks told of the Trojan Horse, that wooden gift of seeming victory, hiding within it the seeds of destruction. So too, the belief that liberation is complete can be a Trojan Horse. If society convinces itself the struggle is over, the work of equality is neglected, and hidden inequalities continue to thrive. True liberation requires vigilance, humility, and the courage to admit that the work is not yet done.

The lesson for us is vital: do not dismiss the voice of feminism, for it is still the voice that names injustice where it hides, that calls out inequity where it lingers. Do not believe that because progress has been made, the path has been fully walked. Teach the young that liberation is not a single victory but a lifelong endeavor, passed from one generation to the next, like a torch that must never be allowed to burn out.

Therefore, take practical steps. Support equal pay in your workplaces. Protect women’s voices in your communities. Challenge stereotypes when they appear, even in jest. Listen to those who still suffer inequality, and believe them. And most of all, resist complacency. For the moment a people declare the struggle over, they risk surrendering to the very forces they once resisted.

So remember the wisdom of Yoko Ono: the claim that feminism is no longer needed is not truth but illusion. It is a lie whispered by comfort, by pride, by weariness. To reject it is to remain awake, vigilant, and strong. For only through constant striving can society reach the day when liberation is not partial but whole, not fragile but unshakable, not an illusion but a reality for all.