Have you ever wished if you were not a woman? I have. I have always wished if I were not a woman. Being a woman has always costed me so much. Even when the world says we should love ourselves being us , they themselves make sure to make us feel pitty for just being ourselves.
As a kid my parents verbally supported equality and promised to treat me and my brother equally. But in action, i was stopped from talking to boys, as they feared i would fall in love. I was stopped from going to picnics, as they believed girls were more vulnerable. I was stopped from playing outside after an age, as they thought I would be an easy target. I wasn’t allowed to choose the education I liked because they believed that would hinder my role as a wife. I wasn’t allowed to talk loudly, run around, wear attires i liked, because that would impact my personality. I was not allowed to read novels and stories as they believed that would enhance my expectations in life. I was not allowed to study beyond a qualification, as they believed that would rise my pride hindering my role as a wife. I was married off early, as they believed that is the ultimate destination of a girl. After all this, the world expects me to happily accept myself as girl?
As a woman, in the society, i am verbally promised a respected role. But when i go out, i have glances following me, reminding me being a woman. When i smile at a man while talking to him, most take it as me flirting with them. When i pick up a call, most men believe i am free and willing to flirt with them. When I go for walking alone, most men believe I am available to them as they please. If i walk out alone at night, they believe its my invitation to them. When I look at someone, most men believe it is my concent to them. When I choose to work at home, the society believes my work is irrelevant. When i choose to be a stay at home mom, the society feels i need not be prioritized and i have all the time in the world. When i choose to be online, the society believes i am charecterless. When i choose to be an entertainer, the society believes i have a failed marriage or i am charecterless. When I am tired, the society believes as a woman i am bound never to be tired. After all this, the society expects me to be happy as a woman?
Why should I be happy as a female when this is the way the world chooses to be? Unlike feminists and female activists, i don’t think I need to even make an effort to prove the world what i am worth. Yes, I am not happy being a woman in this world because like many, i could have been one among the brightest diamonds in the world too, if i wasn’t limited to who i am. I could have paved way for many if i wasn’t stopped for being who i am. I could have been an inspiration too, if i was not limited to being a woman.
Yes i am not happy as a woman and the world being discriminating, have no right to ask me to accept myself happily as a woman!
Chanjals World 