Why is my existence questioned? Why is my opinion questioned just because of my womanhood? Does working till late night and being independent, living on my own, wearing clothes of my choice make me promiscuous? I often think of these questions.
It seems my education is only to add to the literacy rate and data of the country. As if at last I have to confront the so-called reality of getting married with someone who has gained higher education and has higher post than mine, giving birth and marginalize myself as a house maker.
I do agree that marriage is important, family is must but they are just parts of life not the entire life. I know two types of women: those who drive for themselves and those who get driven by someone else. Once one of my co-workers said that she wanted a boyfriend who can ride bike, play guitar, goes to gym and so on. I was shocked. This was all the quality she wanted in her life partner? Is this what we all girls want?
Badge of honor
May be we think like this because we grew up seeing this happen under our nose. We grew up in such circumstances. May be they do not have a mother who says, ‘grow up girl, don’t let anyone down you, never ever even think of getting married until you stand on your feet, explore the world and acquire all the knowledge.’ Not every one’s mother is like my mother.
Or may be their fathers are not keen on seeing them at the top of every competition, help them to grab all the opportunities and respect their choices. Again, not everyone’s father is like my father. Objectification of women is another pathetic occurrence in our society. From using women as sexual objects in advertisements, music videos and films to wolf-whistling from across the street, catcalling, women are considered nothing more than a depersonalized object for sexual gratification. When you question this, people claim admiring the beauty is one thing and objectifying is another.
People have their eyes on what we women do, what we aspire for, how we behave and what we ultimately want to become. We women need to set the precedence with examples that we are not the objects to be sexualized in advertisements, not the bodies to be harassed, not the beings to satisfy the whims of our husbands or boyfriends.
We are here with a dream of our own. And the success of our dream is deeply rooted to the success of the society we live in and the country as a whole.
np.shreena@gmail.com
