Made to Believe...
Highly educated, ready for the cut throat competition, trying to make her mark and her life worthwhile, this woman strives really hard to keep up with hers and everyone’s expectation. She is the woman of today, born out of a mother with similar revolutionary ideologies who made sure she got the best of education her decision not based on any gender bias. The mother however was born in an era where freedom for a woman meant education till intermediate if lucky till graduation. Education was important to find a better groom hence it had an ornamental value. She was allowed to go to the market with her friends provided they were all girls. She grew up and had a say in the decision making of which school her child should study in, what should be cooked at home and what colour dresses she could buy. That was freedom from the long reign of a patriarchal society she thought. The mother found happiness in this so called freedom. She was made to believe that she was independent. The woman however looks pale and irritable. It's getting difficult for her to manage her career, chores at home and demands of twin infants that she gave birth to.
She wonders if at all this is freedom. Although it was a joint effort and decision to have a child then why is it that she has ended up taking more than half of the responsibilities. Why does she feel different from the women of the past? Is it too much pesticides in her food that is causing all this or is it the education and awareness she got exposed to. She takes a big sigh as if it were her last and questions her thoughts that are rushing in her head like water let out in a dam.
A thought crosses her mind about women of the past, who were made to believe to live in a certain way. These women she compares with the women of today. The women of the past were deprived of their basic rights of being a human. They lived a life of a secondary being that co-existed with its superior mate, the men, with a primary objective of satisfying their needs. Lack of independence and knowledge made her believe, it was her duty to shun her thoughts and live her life by the rules specified by her man. Her life's sole purpose was to take care of her husband and bear children for him and take good care of all of them till her last breath. She believed it was her duty to live for her family and not for herself for it would be selfish. She did all this without an ounce of pain and irritability. She felt happy at the end of the day having fed every member of the family. She didn't care about freedom for she was too scared to be all alone in the open. She was made to be taken care of, be dependent on her man, her wishes, her wants weren't important to be catered to. She shall be pleased when her man decides to please her. She had no say no life of her own, no freedom and yet she was happy in this captivity.
The woman can feel the societal burden that weighs heavy on her. She is educated and capable of earning enough to run her household and yet her earnings are treated as an extra for the family. She is expected to look after her twins, bathe them, cook for them, feed them, tuck them to bed twice daily, and carry them along where ever she goes. For if she missed even one of it, she would be made to believe to be a bad mother. A tag she dreads. She has found freedom and yet bounded by so many responsibilities. She is expected to entertain the guests, keep the house clean, maintain the little garden on the terrace, prepare sumptuous meal as per everyone’s taste, do laundry, pay the bills and be a caretaker of her family.
There is battle she fights with her own self. One trying to fight for freedom from this patriarchal bondage the other trying to do as expected being a woman. This chaotic juggernaut has muddled her understanding of being free. The cost of this so called independence and gender equality has taken away her peace of mind and happiness. Would she ever get free she wonders? Would she ever understand the true meaning of independence? What is being independent in this society to you?
Highly educated, ready for the cut throat competition, trying to make her mark and her life worthwhile, this woman strives really hard to keep up with hers and everyone’s expectation. She is the woman of today, born out of a mother with similar revolutionary ideologies who made sure she got the best of education her decision not based on any gender bias. The mother however was born in an era where freedom for a woman meant education till intermediate if lucky till graduation. Education was important to find a better groom hence it had an ornamental value. She was allowed to go to the market with her friends provided they were all girls. She grew up and had a say in the decision making of which school her child should study in, what should be cooked at home and what colour dresses she could buy. That was freedom from the long reign of a patriarchal society she thought. The mother found happiness in this so called freedom. She was made to believe that she was independent. The woman however looks pale and irritable. It's getting difficult for her to manage her career, chores at home and demands of twin infants that she gave birth to.
She wonders if at all this is freedom. Although it was a joint effort and decision to have a child then why is it that she has ended up taking more than half of the responsibilities. Why does she feel different from the women of the past? Is it too much pesticides in her food that is causing all this or is it the education and awareness she got exposed to. She takes a big sigh as if it were her last and questions her thoughts that are rushing in her head like water let out in a dam.
A thought crosses her mind about women of the past, who were made to believe to live in a certain way. These women she compares with the women of today. The women of the past were deprived of their basic rights of being a human. They lived a life of a secondary being that co-existed with its superior mate, the men, with a primary objective of satisfying their needs. Lack of independence and knowledge made her believe, it was her duty to shun her thoughts and live her life by the rules specified by her man. Her life's sole purpose was to take care of her husband and bear children for him and take good care of all of them till her last breath. She believed it was her duty to live for her family and not for herself for it would be selfish. She did all this without an ounce of pain and irritability. She felt happy at the end of the day having fed every member of the family. She didn't care about freedom for she was too scared to be all alone in the open. She was made to be taken care of, be dependent on her man, her wishes, her wants weren't important to be catered to. She shall be pleased when her man decides to please her. She had no say no life of her own, no freedom and yet she was happy in this captivity.
The woman can feel the societal burden that weighs heavy on her. She is educated and capable of earning enough to run her household and yet her earnings are treated as an extra for the family. She is expected to look after her twins, bathe them, cook for them, feed them, tuck them to bed twice daily, and carry them along where ever she goes. For if she missed even one of it, she would be made to believe to be a bad mother. A tag she dreads. She has found freedom and yet bounded by so many responsibilities. She is expected to entertain the guests, keep the house clean, maintain the little garden on the terrace, prepare sumptuous meal as per everyone’s taste, do laundry, pay the bills and be a caretaker of her family.
There is battle she fights with her own self. One trying to fight for freedom from this patriarchal bondage the other trying to do as expected being a woman. This chaotic juggernaut has muddled her understanding of being free. The cost of this so called independence and gender equality has taken away her peace of mind and happiness. Would she ever get free she wonders? Would she ever understand the true meaning of independence? What is being independent in this society to you?
