A Feminist Future

Brave World,
This is a letter from your future.

This is a world made equal
A generation challenged and changed and redeemed
A world you believed in,
A world that you built,
A world you’re creating, but cannot yet see:
This is a letter from the women you’ve set free.

Dear Feminists,

As you stand your ground
Side by side amidst the noise
As you hear the chorus of the movement
And decide to lift your voice
As you fight together for the future
The right to peace, and power and choice;
Governments will match your momentum
Policies will partner with your perspective
Communities will build upon your bravery

You are shattering the glass ceiling,
Feminists
And we know the shards stick and sting
Upon your knuckles
And the scars haven’t faded
And the fire still feels hot
But you have revealed the endless sky
To the generation who will finally touch it
These women
Have no limits now:

The future is feminist
And so it is fluid and inclusive
Where all expressions of gender
Are protected and respected
Where the feminine and masculine
Are esteemed as equal qualities of leadership.

The future is feminist
And so are its policy makers
Where women in all their diversities
Are elevated and elected as leaders and advocates
Combining their power to affect global change

The future is feminist
And so its governments are accountable to women
Where they have recognised authority
Over their own bodies
Access to safety and security
Where their choices are upheld by their human rights.

The future is feminist,
And so it has reached inclusive peace
Where the most vulnerable are not just granted refuge
But amplified power
A heard voice within every political negotiation
Government resources for community elevation
Funding and support to set free the next generation
Where one woman’s healing
Can heal the whole world.

In this future, the war against women is finally over.
And it benefits everyone.

Feminists of every gender
This is the movement you are building together
As you demonstrate
As you motivate
As you organise and influence and advocate
This is the world you can collectively create.

This is a letter from your future,
From the women who are standing upon your shoulders
Climbing beyond restriction
Into a true equality
Taking hold of a world
You cannot yet see
Brave Feminists,
This is a letter from the women now set free.

Reach up
And rise together
The future is feminist
And the future is yours.

Words written by Anna McGahan