ON BEING A WOMAN

Noted American activist Margaret Sanger quoted “A free race cannot be born of slave mothers”. Indeed its true. For any society to grow and develop, it’s imperative that all its mothers are educated, respected and treated well. For any race to survive in the tides of time, it’s vital for its women to have a voice and be heard. Mankind without women is like a lifeless tree that has lost its shot to life. Such quintessential is the very existence of women in this world.

But sadly not everybody agrees with this. And to my dismay, not everybody believes that women should have an equal say in everything. Traditionally, our culture teaches us to revere women and believes in worshipping her in her various forms. But reality narrates a contrasting tale. In our world, women are treated like objects rather than beings made of flesh and blood, women are treated like slaves who are meant to be dominated; women are treated with anything but dignity.

For centuries, women have been burnt alive, forced to live in dark and dingy crevices of continuance, traded like goods and treated like cattle. For centuries, a woman has been treated like anything but human. She has been driven to live in the deepest and darkest corners of hell. And yet when she leaves her dormant cocoon, she rises like a shining star awaiting its freedom.

Past few decades have gradually witnessed a slow change in the mindset of people. There have been revolutions and movements that to a larger extent have eliminated the malpractices that have been prevalent since times together but at the same time uncovered the stark realities of the modern world. Female foeticide, women trafficking, prostitution, dowry, rapes, sexual abuse, acid attacks, the list of crimes against women goes on and on.

As a woman of the twenty first century I feel unsafe and insecure everywhere be it home, office or in a crowd. I feel angry and disgusted to be a part of the society that I’m living in, one that asks its women to go all covered and stay indoors instead of teaching its men to respect women. And yet in these times of trials, it’s not only the men who are questioning women but also women themselves are raising fingers at each other. It’s a sorry state of affairs that we the women, instead of standing shoulder to shoulder are becoming the reason for each other’s doomed fate. We, instead of being each other’s support system are becoming the reason for each other’s misery.

We, instead of freeing each other are encaging each other. It pains me to see where we are heading towards.

I’m a woman and I’m proud to be so. I cherish my being and I value my existence. I have the equal right to every single thing in this world. I am the life force in every being. I am a part of the mother supreme. I am the determination behind every being and no one has the right to question my very existence. I am supreme, serene and I am complete.