The ideas of gender and tradition should not set a person’s path of life, women deserve to be treated equally as men, deserves the same respect, same as men deserve to feel vulnerable or expressing their emotions. With the theme of speech: “Feminism against The World, Breaking Down Patriarchal Cultures to Create Gender Equality”, Fitra Ariesta Wismaningrum, a student of International Relations Study Program of President University snatched the second winner in International Relations Championship (IRON) 2019. The championship which brought the “Youth Challenges in Contemporary World Politics” theme was held on October 4 – 6, 2019. It is an annual event held by Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.
In her speech, Fitra also highlighted the issue of patriarchy and misconception about feminism where women want to overpower men. In her opinion, patriarchal culture has existed in the world for many years, yet there are some steps that can be implemented within society. Education is the power to start women’s emancipation. Education is needed to empower girls, and boys to create gender equality. Indonesian society can also establish a discussion forum or mediation forum, between the representative of the oppressed women and the representative of a community that supports patriarchal traditions.
Fitra revealed that she was very happy to win this competition. “I feel very happy that I won the competition and brought prestige to President University. I got more excited to keep learning to broaden my insight and join in other competitions,” said Fitra.
Another satisfying achievement was also obtained by the debate team who become the third winner in the same championship. The team which consisted of Reynaldo Arya (Law 2018), Rey Abraham (International Relations 2018) and Rendy Utomo (International Relations 2015) debated about poverty, economic and the environment. They were also debated whether billionaires should be erased or not. The team was successfully won third place after fighting through intense debate with several other delegations who recognized in international scale debate championship.