A salwar-kameez-clad gaon ki gori, a shorts-wali-sheheri-ladki, a god fearing sanskari-ladki, a I-don’t-believe-in-God-wali independent ladki, a ghar-grihasti-wali housewife, a working lady; we all are women, all are equal all have independent beliefs and all have a different lifestyle. We need to develop a mutual respect for and understanding of each other.
What enraged me to write this is today’s newspaper. A local daily that I was reading in the morning had an article by a woman, presenting a woman’s stereotypical image, and making fun of it.
Generally speaking:
When a woman, suppose a college goer hears that a classmate is not a virgin, but her boyfriend dumped her, she says, “shame, what a fool, why does one has to be so desperate” etc. etc.
When a middle aged lady sees another woman’s daughter wearing shorts and spaghetti, she says, “My daughter is so well cultured. She knows how to dress up decently unlike these cheap girls”, etc. etc.
When a housewife hears that her neighbour is getting divorced she says, “What kind of a woman is she. How can she even think of a life without her husband? Marriage is a sacred bond. What shame she must bring to her parents” etc. etc.
We need to understand that we all are women from a society which since its beginning has sadly being discriminate in its approach. Today some of us are from a background where women are treated as equals, some from where there are still discriminations and some from where their situations are in a process of change. It is our mutual struggle therefore and we must respect and regard each other. If a fellow woman has had pre-marital sex, it is her life, she is free, why can’t she have desires like a man can have, and most importantly when she is in love. Similarly, if a fellow woman is getting divorced it is her right of choice. She may not be at fault. She must have tried to save her marriage. She certainly does not want to push herself into the darkness; there must be a serious crisis that she has to take such a big step. And if a woman wears shorts she is nowhere indicating that she has no culture. It is her life, her choice, her body, her comfort.
My examples are limited. There are many other ways in which a woman stands against another woman. And maybe, my examples are the rare incidents; there are perhaps other incidents that are more common. Whatever be the case, I am sure anyone can’t deny that my point is authentic. It does happen. It is not just men who are stereotypical but we women ourselves. I thereby put a request forward here. Dear woman, please pay attention to these apparently trivial things, because they matter a lot. It is little things that pile up together to make a great difference. So, please take care of them. Please be careful in how you perceive another woman, in the slightest moments of your daily life. I am sure it is an essential part of the whole, great Feminist struggle. Don’t you agree?