A form of inequality sometimes overlooked is related to women's bodies and their efforts to reclaim them. In many societies, women are oppressed and face far less opportunity than men. The Shape of Water is a documentary that looks at issues relating to women's activism. In one example specifically in Senegal, women are trying to make a shift from the tradition of female genital mutilation and destroy this archaic practice that effects so many women and young girls. It is alarming to me that something so private determines the respect a women receives; Khady Koita, an activist against female genital mutilation in Senegal, said that without being cut, women are not respected in their community. So because old tradition says so, women continued to be violated and experiences unfair treatment simply because they were born female. On top of being mutilated at such a young age, girls are not even aware of what is happening or why it is happening to them, which seems not only wrong but inhumane. The lack of medical treatment and procedures used to execute this age old tradition puts the girls at harms risk, as well as takes away from their sexual identity.

Women like Khady in third world countries are attempting to make change in many different aspects of their lives, despite the challenges they may face. As a woman, although I am unable to relate to the problems that women in third world countries face, I find it so easy to sympathize with these women, and want to fight for the same change that they are. More often than not, inequalities are looked at in realms like economics, race, or health, and gender is not often part of the conversation. The presence of gender inequality globally is not shocking to me necessarily, but the degree to which it is happening in third world countries makes me upset, but also motivated to engage in conversations surrounding these issues to raise awareness and hopefully help push towards a more equal society.