We broke her spirit, we pushed her down, we forced her to drown in a pool of her insecurities and what justification did we give in our defence? She is a girl , she is a liability! Who made her this way in the first place? We did, our society did, our archaic traditions and mindset did. It is said by certain people that If you give birth to a girl you must have done something terribly wrong in your past life . I say, if this is your mindset, then forget about your past life you are definitely doing something terribly wrong in your present life.
It is a fact, a rather cliched one, that without women there will be no more births and without no more births there will be no humanity . Yet , the provider of life, is made to feel ashamed about the fact that she is a girl/ woman/ lady/ human!
On his 16th birthday he got a brand new bike and on her 16th birthday she got a surprise visit from her would be in laws. On his 18th birthday he was granted his freedom and on hers, her freedom was taken away. He went out to work and he received praises , love and encouragement. She went out to work , took care of the house , took care of the children , hardly had any time to take care of herself and she was repaid with scars , insults , jibes and judgements. It is 2018 and she is still fighting, and the sad part is she is fighting for something that is her birth right EQUALITY! When we say safety of women we don’t just mean safety against violence but a safe atmosphere where they are given the same educational and health facilities as their male counterparts and an atmosphere where differences are appreciated and not used as a tool to establish ones superiority over the other. From Rani Laxmibai to PV Sindhu , women have proven time and again that with Courage , faith and a little bit of a rebellious streak , they too can make a difference!
Times are changing , mindsets are changing but this change needs to increase exponentially. It is high time we realise that being a woman is a strength , not a weakness. Why should her dreams be replaced by obligations? Why should her wings be clipped to make way for his over inflated ego? If she talks loudly , she is obnoxious. If she talks softly she is timid. If she does not indulge in conversations she is a cold person but if she gets friendly all sorts of derogatory terms are used for her. It is time for us to stop living up to other people's expectations and start living up to our own. I might be female I might be male but first and foremost I am human and as a human I will not suffer silently and let you suppress my innermost feelings and desires. As Malala Yousafzai said “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard” so raise your voice and the world will give you strength. Don't judge her, appreciate her. Don’t curse her, encourage her. Don’t laugh at her because in the end all you are doing is laughing at yourself.
Comments
Extremely apt, given what is going on around us!