“What? Who told you to show yourself as someone so
brave when you are not? Can’t you remember one simple thing that you are a girl
and you cannot be as strong as a boy? If he and his friends were teasing you
and following you till office, who told you to just stop and slap him? Do you
know how unpredictably they can react now? They might throw acid on your face,
they might kidnap you and rape you and then throw you in a jungle, they might
just have a revolver and shoot you next time they see you? Don’t try to show
bravery here dear. This is your real life and not any women’s emancipation documentary
or a Bollywood movie. You should know that you are nothing in front of a group
of guys!”
This was my mom who was quite angry on me and I am sure
you now know why, and whatever she told me was out of extreme fury! She left my
room in a dash and slammed the door of my room hard while leaving. I knew well
that she will not talk to me for some days now and will also remain worried
whenever I leave the house. She might even tell me to take a leave from office
for a few days and to stay at home in order to avoid those men.
Like my mom, there are many other women who constantly
live in fear. They think of themselves as the weaker sex, as the ones who can
be easily crushed by men. But if we only start thinking about ourselves as the
weaker sex, as the ones who can be easily subdued, then how will a man respect
us anyway? If we, the women, believe that we cannot do a lot of things which
men can, how can we say that we are strong? Giving speeches on a Women’s Day
function or debating with a male friend about how strong and brave we are doesn’t
make us brave in its true sense. Somewhere, we just try to portray ourselves as
strong in front of the society without even having that faith that we really
are.
I knew that my mom would stop me from going to office
the next day. But still I got up early, took a bath and got ready for office. I
came down to have my breakfast and my mom was quite shocked. Somewhere she also
had thought that I too will be afraid of going to office and hence she expected
me to sleep for some late hours. However, I didn’t bother her surprising glance
and sat down to have my breakfast. I knew she would say something and soon
after she said, “You are not going to office today. Just go back to your room
and call your Boss and tell him that you are ill.”
That’s it! I had to speak up. I didn’t tell her
anything the night before but if I couldn’t say anything now, it would get
tough for me in the long run. I stood up and said, “Mom, are you proud to be a
woman?” She was quite amazed at my sudden query. She fumbled and replied, “Yyyyes...
but why you asking me this”. I continued, “Are you sure about it?” Mom replied,
“Have you gone mad? I am in no mood of answering to these stupid questions of
yours.” I didn’t pay much attention to her and said, “If you cannot be sure
about how proud you are of being a woman, then the way you are behaving since
last night is quite predictable. See mom, I saw you discussing with your friend
the other day on phone about how proud you are of me that I am an independent
woman now. How happy you are about the fact that me, your daughter, is earning
on her own and is much better settled than a lot of men you know. But tell me
something, did you really mean saying it? No mom, you didn’t, because if you
would have meant it, you would never have behaved the way you did last night
and today as well. We are not lesser or inferior than any men mom. You need to
know that. If you think that the next time you talk to the same friend of yours
and tell her that I have left going to office for something so silly, how will
she feel? Will not she think of you as someone who changes her mind every now
and then? I am going to office today and I will go to office every single day.”
I saw that my mom had tears on her eyes. This was the
first time I spoke to her this harshly and I felt bad but I was really angry. I
took my handbag and rushed to office.
I just have one question for all. How are we the “weaker
sex”? We can bear a child on our body for 9 long months. We can see ourselves
getting fat every single day when we get pregnant. We see our 28 inches waist becoming
48 inches but still we manage to smile thinking about the little bundle of joy that
is going to come in our lives after a few days. We can leave our parents, our friends,
our home, our bedroom, our bed, our pillows, and every single thing when we get married and move with our husbands. We can do
so much and what men can really do? There is nothing which women cannot do now.
We are pilots, we are scientists, we are actors, we are managers, we are
entrepreneurs, we are mothers, and we can take up any single role.
We need to believe in ourselves and only then we can get
appreciated by men. We should make them aware that being a woman is not easy at
all. So, all you women out there, celebrate yourselves, celebrate the way you
are, take pride in yourselves and always remember, “Bekhauff aazaad hai jeena mujhe... bekhauff aazaad hai rehna mujhe...” (Courtesy: Satyamev Jayate)
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