Western Feminism

When discussing Western Feminism in class it reminded me of Christian missionaries who went over the other countries to teach them about Christianity. The missionaries wanted to spread their message and increase the amount of Christians.
In India, missionaries came over to spread their message and they ran into Hinduism. Since Christianity and other Semitic religions have a certain structure to how they are run, the missionaries imposed this on Hinduism. Christianity has a holy book, a place or worship, and a Priest. So the missionaries looked at Hinduism through that lens. They changed the entire structure of Hinduism and how we view it today. For example the Vedas are the holy book, but most Hindus in India have never even heard of them or read them. It is very different from what the Bible is to Christians. But the problem with the missionaries was that they did not realize what they were doing; they were never taught a different way to see religion. This is a problem with Western Feminism also. We try to imagine what life is like in third-world countries but we can’t understand it and see their point of view unless we go there and live it. Western Feminist, like the Christian missionaries, are bringing their background and culture into societies that don’t think the same way we do. We are shaped by how we live and through our society that it is hard to see and understand how women in third-world countries think. That’s why I think dialogues are very important. Although it’s not as progressive as Western Feminism, it is needed before there can be change. Women all over the world need to understand each other before we can work together to help each other.