Being a woman
There was a time, when womanhood was worshiped worldwide. A woman’s birth was considered as the beginning of prosperity. A
woman had all the basic rights of a human being- right to speak, right to make
decisions, right to learn. Hitherto, I was talking about the Vedic Era, when
the women were considered equal to the men. They didn't only take care of the
household and bear children but also participated in almost all social
practices with proper respect. A woman was recognized by her dignity.
But today the whole scenario has changed. A woman is in no way considered to be equal to a man, rather inferior and subordinate to him. She has no right to take decisions for her own family; even she has no right to take decisions about her own life. A woman, in rural areas, is believed to be a reproductive machine whose one and only duty is to be obedient to her husband and in-laws and produce them a inheritor. Unfortunately, if it’s a baby girl, then the newborn has to be forced to a life her mother has lived always or it has to be killed in any manner. Being under someone’s thumb is also a death a woman accepts every day.
A woman, except extra-ordinary cases, is known by her father’s name till marriage and by husband’s name till death. She is never asked about her pains and problems, instead she is told about the pains and problems of her husband’s family and ordered to take care of them. A woman forgets her own family, her room, her home and even her name and manages to adjust into a completely unknown environment and then gets often appreciated.
Being a woman is, I think, one of the hard challenges a human has to accept. Forget about the difficulties she faces inside the house, the external nuisances are both intense and terrible. Despite those stares, sly smiles and filthy gestures, she has to make her way. Sometimes the terrible gazes penetrate us to the core and it’s as painful as an assault. Sometimes you can understand those deliberate touches which are pretended as mistakes. Sometimes, girls get assaulted by their relatives, their closest ones.
Do we really deserve these? A girl child should be considered as a blessing, the secular incarnation of the goddesses we worship every day. But how many of them are valued? People respect their mothers, then why not the wife, the daughters? Female feticide has become a usual thing. But why? Just because they can’t give you an inheritor? Is that the only thing a person need in their life?
If men think they are the superior most, they should remember those nine months they were given shelter, the warmth their mother gave when they needed it the most, that every drop of milk they were fed with, those sleepless nights their mother, a woman, sacrificed on them. Then I will ask, who is superior, a man or a woman?
But today the whole scenario has changed. A woman is in no way considered to be equal to a man, rather inferior and subordinate to him. She has no right to take decisions for her own family; even she has no right to take decisions about her own life. A woman, in rural areas, is believed to be a reproductive machine whose one and only duty is to be obedient to her husband and in-laws and produce them a inheritor. Unfortunately, if it’s a baby girl, then the newborn has to be forced to a life her mother has lived always or it has to be killed in any manner. Being under someone’s thumb is also a death a woman accepts every day.
A woman, except extra-ordinary cases, is known by her father’s name till marriage and by husband’s name till death. She is never asked about her pains and problems, instead she is told about the pains and problems of her husband’s family and ordered to take care of them. A woman forgets her own family, her room, her home and even her name and manages to adjust into a completely unknown environment and then gets often appreciated.
Being a woman is, I think, one of the hard challenges a human has to accept. Forget about the difficulties she faces inside the house, the external nuisances are both intense and terrible. Despite those stares, sly smiles and filthy gestures, she has to make her way. Sometimes the terrible gazes penetrate us to the core and it’s as painful as an assault. Sometimes you can understand those deliberate touches which are pretended as mistakes. Sometimes, girls get assaulted by their relatives, their closest ones.
Do we really deserve these? A girl child should be considered as a blessing, the secular incarnation of the goddesses we worship every day. But how many of them are valued? People respect their mothers, then why not the wife, the daughters? Female feticide has become a usual thing. But why? Just because they can’t give you an inheritor? Is that the only thing a person need in their life?
If men think they are the superior most, they should remember those nine months they were given shelter, the warmth their mother gave when they needed it the most, that every drop of milk they were fed with, those sleepless nights their mother, a woman, sacrificed on them. Then I will ask, who is superior, a man or a woman?
Click to read Yesterday's Post (Day 1)
I thought about Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" as I read this. Then I thought about modern-day slavery, mail-order brides, genital mutilation, and so many other challenges women face. #Blogging A to Z.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI love your heartfelt and candid thoughts...
Writer In Transit
You are correct...there are a lot of cultures that devalue women. For example, when a woman is tortured or killed for bringing shame on her family because she was raped. It's awful. Even here in the USA women aren't paid as much as men for doing the same jobs.
ReplyDelete