Celebrating Me, Myself everyday.

This International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate femininity! 
I have written this post for the contest theme ‘Celebrating Girls, Celebrating Women’ contest!
Check more here.

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How was your childhood as a girl? Were you cherished and celebrated or did you notice something amiss? Were you happy to be a girl? Do you feel that today’s girls are empowered? How do you think we can support them? 

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The Childhood….

A girl child, an only child, I remain to my parents. My Dad still talks about the day I was born. The smile returns and the gleam in his eyes becomes brighter. My Mum just smiles and glows all the more.

My grandmother pestered my Mum for a son all her life but my Mum was sure she wanted none. She let not the cruel discrimination game of son over the daughter get into my childhood days of toys and pleasure.

When the neighbors son was admitted to the missionary school, I was not left behind. My dad made sure I had more to read and more to talk about.  In the vacations that came, the boys played cricket and I was made to learn judo.

The first time the boy in my class said that ‘Girls are only meant to cook and read no book’. I scratched his notebook all over and made an angry girl on top of it.  It set him right and he never fought about it again.

I topped the boards. It was a moment to savor forever when my parents said it proudly ‘My girl has made my family rise’. Wish everyone thought the same and brought up their daughters likewise.

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Another perspective…. it may be U or Me

Oh! Its a girl in the womb. Kill her. We can’t afford a girl. She will be a burden to us. The mother sobs and fights to not let that happen but the end comes for the one who does not know how cruelty and violence is. Sad, Isn’t it?

Morning till the evening, A girl was a girl and a boy was a boy. But when night came a boy could stay out and a girl had to be in. My parents said the city was not safe, you must come from your friends place early. I wonder?

I went ahead to take up a job, the people around were happy. They said I was the son of the house. Why son, I would prefer to be called a daughter.  Who said only boys took care of the family and parents?

You had a car to travel, you were safe. But not all can afford. You walk on the roads, you ride on the bus, but how long. The dirty glances, the indecent touches, the pinch, the lewd comment, you have to face it every now and then. Why?

I graduate as a doctor, as an engineer etc, I take up the best job. But the boss is more interested in my looks than my performance. I dare not to comply to his ways. I am paid less and I am denied a promotion. I am harassed too every now and then. Everyone is talking about gender diversity. Can I really snap back at the colleague who tried to mess with me? 

Time to get married. How can it thrive until I mention the dowry. May be less or more, the groom and the family want it for sure.  And then the girl is loaded with tons of rules, regulations and expectations. She does this, she does that, she does everything but she is blamed for every wrong that happens. She is expected to plan a child not when she wants but when the family members want. Sacrifices, how many?

She is not happy. So what? How can she live as a single woman? What will the society say? Hush Hush!! Oh there was something wrong with the women, thus it went wrong? Allegations so many! Can she really walkout?

I search for happiness…… the desires remain unfulfilled….. 

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Women Empowerment….

Today’s women are empowered but still not to the extent that we should be. We can make choices but not until the men of the house is happy about it.  We cannot grow in the jobs until it is the demand of the company to meet the gender diversity or until we slog extra hours at the job. Our performance is measured less than our looks. You get down on the street and there are glances that make you shudder. There are comments and heinous acts that can ma
ke the last organ in our body shudder. We want to walk straight to the person and slap him tight but we cannot. We want to tell the boss to keep his hands away but we fear its repercussions. And when its not enough, even the family at home judges you for everything you do. The mother-in-law would say don’t do this and the husband would ask for favors against your wishes for the sake of love.

When I qualify as a engineer, why does the male professor say-‘ Oh this stream has always been forte of boys’. Why is the girl expected to adapt to the changes around her. Why is she always associated with cooking and cleaning? Why is the girl expected to change herself and start adapting from the very next day of her marriage?We can do everything, everyone accepts it but then why it is then the society keeps judging us every now and then. The male dominated society expects us to prove our mettle twice for everything. First we qualify something at par with boys and then we have to prove it again that we have actually done it. We are being given chances for everything but there is always an ‘if an but’ about it.  Hence I still feel we do not have the rights to transform our choices into desired actions. 

We are not only about looking good, cooking food or about giving sacrifices. We are more than this. We are creators of life, we prepare food that keeps us going all day, we help tie the bonds far and near and we manage and excel at work too. And  the best of all we can put it all together and at the same time.

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Whats Needed… ???

Change in perspective. Change in attitude. Change in laws and enforcement. How can someone just escape after treating us in a cruel way? Why no one fears after messing with us? Do we have to get down to treating the hooligans in the same way? Don’t take us for granted, don’ t consider us weak. We prefer to be the way we are but we can give back anytime. We are equal, don’t give it as mercy to us, we deserve it.  We have the strength, we have all the power to take the world in our strides. We have to believe in our strength and action. We have to celebrate ourselves every moment. Its not just about one day that we should respect women, everyday should be about treating them well. And every lady should treat the other one well, if we don’t do that ourselves, how can we expect the men to do it.

Come not the sunshine, Come not the rain.

I am here to live my way, I will let not my life go in vain.

This is for http://www.womensweb.in/articles/celebrating-girls-celebrating-women/

🙂 🙂 🙂

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