A few days ago, I experienced two different instances on the same day which made me feel super excited and then really angry. The day started off on a very optimistic beat having read about how hyper loop is going to be implemented in India [A healthy debate as usual took place over the phone on the same topic with my mom] but little did I know I was going to be emotionally drained later during the day. As I was commuting back from my class, I saw a young girl, way younger than my teenage sister, all adorned in bridal wear and I could see it in her eyes- She was everything but happy [Not going to get much into detail, because to this day I am filled with guilt for reasons not known but I hope to find someday]. All I know right now is we have failed miserably as individuals and also a society, we may adapt to changing times in terms of science and technology but I am ashamed to admit that we have no substance as social beings. These instances represent two different worlds existing in our country to this day. In fact there are countless instances discussed by the media and in our everyday gupshup where we constantly demean woman -no point rehashing them since we are all aware but never seem to do anything about them.
Coming from a small city in Nagaland, in the northeast of India, I am constantly overwhelmed and left feeling helpless seeing the plight of woman in other parts of the country. Growing up, I have seen women of different generations thrive as strong independent working professionals [Grandmother, Mother, Aunt, Sisters] and not just defined by how appetizingly she could make dal and chawal. I have seen how resilient and strong a woman can be if given the chance instead of shoving her into to the confines of four walls called “Kitchen”. Having a working professional as a mother I have seen how woman can be meticulous in balancing home and work [Though the occasional instant cooking adventures of my mother didn’t settle too well on the taste buds, LOL! Can’t blame her though, she was busy juggling two lives and was pretty good at both].
As a student and a budding professional I have encountered so many women [Professors, employers, bosses] who not only continues to inspire me but constantly validate my believe in “Women empowerment”, proving that if given a chance to lead a life where she has the choice to be educated, the choice to dream and most importantly the choice to create her own destiny instead of being objectified, and treated as a social baggage, you would be in awe of what she could become-for herself as well as for the society.
All this time we have done nothing but hinder her growth with boundaries and filled her conscience with fear, yet some of them managed to come up strong and independent. So for a change shall we all try to be on her side, be that brother, son, father, husband who builds her up assuring her life can be anything but a constant battle to be heard and liberated.
To all the Women, as the saying goes – may you lead a life worrying less about fitting into glass slippers and more about shattering glass ceilings.
You go, Girl!
Happy International Women’s Day.
