So it’s Women’s
Day today, and thanks to the omnipresence and omnipotence of technology, I’m
inundated with messages, pictures and videos that are meant to motivate,
inspire and allow my kind to pat ourselves on the back for being born a woman
and struggling through the journey of being one. But somehow, it all seems so
contrived.
Before all the
feminists out there jump at my throat, let me clarify – yes, I completely agree
that atrocities are being committed against women, every day and every hour;
yes, women are being tortured and persecuted mentally and physically in so many
ways; yes, many parents don’t want baby girls as they are perceived to be a
financial burden; yes, young girls are raped and killed for bringing so-called dishonor
to their families; and so on and so forth.
That being said,
it’s not that the male species is free of their share of troubles too – young
boys and even men are being abused every day, mentally and physically; many men
live in mortal fear of their wives who completely rule the roost; and worst of
all, men are at the receiving end of feminine wiles – she is free to scream
harassment and shout abuse – in short, cry wolf and/or cry a lot and get away
with it.
The point I’m
trying to make is that troubles and problems are a part of each person’s
journey through life, whether you are a man or a woman. It’s not just because
you’re born a woman that you’re a magnet for all the woes in the world.
Yes, women are
physically weaker, and yes, their biological constitution allows the perpetration
of atrocious crimes on them. However, we should also remember that there are
many experiences that only we are blessed to go through – childbirth being the
most significant of these. We have a much wider choice when it comes to the
clothes we buy, the way we dress, the way we do our hair, the colours we can
carry off, and the way we accessorize. (Let’s face it – if men do the same
thing, they’re labeled gay J) And there is something innately glorious and wonderful about being
the softer, gentler version of humankind.
Yes, women are
at the receiving end of abusive treatment, but for every husband who beats his
wife, there is also a mother-in-law who tortures her daughter-in-law; for every
father who abuses his daughter, there is also a mother who kills her foetus
because it is female. What is the point in taking pride in being a woman when
many of our kind are villains too?
I’m immensely
proud of who I am, not because I’m a woman who has fought it out to gain acceptance
or what is due to her in a man’s world, but because I have been lucky enough to
be surrounded by wonderful human beings, both men and women, who have helped me
shape up to what and who I am today. Yes, there have been men who have treated
me badly, but the same goes for some women in my life too.
So this Woman’s
Day, although I dearly love my women friends, colleagues, sisters, cousins,
aunts, relatives, and most of all, my mom, I cannot help but also think of all
the men in my life, without whom I would not be even a fraction of who I am
today. My best friend is a man, I get along better with most men than most
women, and I find I can be myself around men without having to put on airs.
I want to take
pride in celebrating my womanhood, but not just for one day of the year. What I
want to celebrate is the journey of being a woman, every day of my life, and to
do this is impossible if I were to exclude the men in my life, because without
them, I’m not complete. Be it my father or my brother or my cousins or my
friends, or any of the random men who stayed in my life for brief periods yet
contributed significantly to some aspect of who I am, each and every one of
them has had as much an impact on me as the women in my life.
So my fellow
womenfolk, let’s celebrate this day by all means, but let’s do it while raising
a toast to all the wonderful men in our lives, without whom our worlds would be
completely incomplete!
