Words change their meaning over time. Feminism was once a doctrine advocating social and political rights for women equal to those of men. Three or four decades later, feminism means anti-marriage, anti-masculine and anti-man.

At a meeting for International Women’s Day this year, the singer Annie Lennox was speaking to a gathering, and asked how many feminists were there. Only one or two hands were raised. Out of the whole group, almost no one identified themselves as a feminist, and yet none of them would have argued with the idea that there should be equality between the sexes. “Perhaps we need a new word,” Lennox said, to general agreement.

And we at She is the Light agree with that. We believe in equality. But we believe in balance, too. And they’re not the same thing.

Women are not equal to men; we are completely different and that should be accepted, appreciated, celebrated and supported. We deserve the same respect as men; we deserve to be paid as well for our work and time; we do not need to be belittled or marginalised because our strengths are not those of men. Rather, we should be treated as equal but different; we are the other face of the coin, and without us the coin couldn’t exist. She is the Light is a place to acknowledge the equality and the differences, and to shape society with the support of each other, united in our desire for positive outcomes.

We enjoy being women, being feminine, being soft, safe, seeking unity, sharing, giving and serving. We love men. But we don’t want to be them. There is nothing wrong with nurturing: we’re good at it.

We believe that when women work from their hearts they speak with truth and transparency. We are not coming from a position of greed, ego or control, but instead from a passion to give, to serve, to let go and trust in faith and love.

Feminism was a huge cultural force. Many battles were fought in its name, and many won. Many are still to be won. But we want to recast the battlefield. In fact, we don’t want to fight at all; we want to work in harmony, not in opposition. Society, and the world, is beset with urgent problems. But we think that we have a better chance of solving those problems if we’re not fighting amongst ourselves.  We thank the feminists of the past: they got us to where we are today. But let’s find a new way of pushing forward, together, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, to forge the world we all deserve.