20 words
Feminism
النسوية
The belief, and the movement, that women deserve the same rights, dignity and choices as men, and the work to make it real.
Not hating men: wanting fairness for everyone.
Patriarchy
الأبوية
A social system where men hold most of the power, in families, politics and the economy, and that imbalance is treated as natural.
“The man of the house decides.”
Liberal feminism
النسوية الليبرالية
Seeks equality through laws and reforms: equal rights in education, work and politics, changed from within the system.
Campaigning for equal pay laws.
Radical feminism
النسوية الراديكالية
Sees patriarchy as the root of women’s oppression, and calls for changing society at its roots, not only its laws.
Questioning roles at home, not only rules at work.
Socialist feminism
النسوية الاشتراكية
Links women’s oppression to class and capitalism, including the unpaid care work women do at home. Close to Marxist feminism.
Who cooks, cleans and cares, for free?
Intersectional feminism
النسوية التقاطعية
Recognises that gender overlaps with class, religion, ethnicity and disability, so women face different, layered injustices.
A rural woman and a city woman don’t face the same barriers.
Capitalism
الرأسمالية
An economic system built on private ownership and profit. Feminists ask who does the unpaid work it depends on.
Care at home keeps the economy running, unpaid.
Consent
الموافقة
A free, clear and informed “yes”, that can be taken back at any time.
Silence, pressure or fear are not consent.
Misogyny
كراهية النساء
Hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women, from “jokes” to violence.
“Women are too emotional to lead.”
Bodily autonomy
الاستقلالية الجسدية
The right to make decisions about your own body, health and future, without force or pressure.
Your body, your choice: at home, at the doctor, everywhere.
Gaslighting
التلاعب النفسي
Manipulation that makes someone doubt their own memory, feelings or sanity, until they stop trusting themselves.
“That never happened. You’re too sensitive.”
Femicide
قتل النساء
The killing of women and girls because they are women, often by a partner or a relative.
Globally, most women who are killed are killed by a partner or family member (UN).
Gender-based violence
العنف القائم على النوع الاجتماعي
Harm done to someone because of their gender: physical, sexual, psychological or economic.
Taking her salary is violence too.
So-called “honour” crimes
ما يُسمّى «جرائم الشرف»
Violence, often murder, against women by relatives who claim to be protecting the family’s “honour”.
There is no honour in killing.
Victim blaming
لوم الضحية
Holding the person who was harmed responsible, instead of the person who caused the harm.
“What was she wearing?”
Sexual harassment
التحرّش الجنسي
Unwanted sexual words, looks, messages or touching: in the street, at work or online.
Unwanted messages are harassment too.
Coercive control
السيطرة القسرية
A pattern of controlling someone’s money, phone, friends or movements, to take away their freedom.
“You don’t go out without asking me.”
Child marriage
زواج القاصرات
Any marriage, formal or informal, where one or both people are under 18.
A girl, not a bride.
Emotional labour
العمل العاطفي
The unseen work of managing everyone’s feelings, keeping the peace and remembering everything.
Who remembers every birthday and every appointment?
Gender pay gap
فجوة الأجور بين الجنسين
The difference between what women and men earn on average, often for the same or similar work.
Same job, smaller salary.
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