I strongly believe how times have changed. How women have empowered themselves and are walking together or even more successful than men. I have always opposed misogyny and supported an egalitarian society. I have been around both types of people but nothing sadness me more when opportunities are taken away from someone just because of gender, race or cast.
I have a younger sister. And like most of the brother-sister relationship we grew up irritating, fighting and consoling each other. I remember she used to save me from getting scolded from my parents. She used to tell them “it’s fine bhaiya will not do it again”. Whenever I had to go for a night over, she used to help me with the permission.
We grew up, now I am working in a city. She moved out of high school and now joined a college of fine arts in the same city. But there was some change that I felt. Now she looks up to me for her choices. She trusted me with my advice. Suddenly I felt I have a huge responsibility for her.
And thoughts came to my mind
“I want her to be safe”
“I want her to pursue whatever she wants”
“She should have complete freedom to make her own independent choices”
“But will my little angel be able to manage this alone?”
“What if someone if-teases her?”
“What if something wrong happens?”
“Will she be strong enough?”
I was scared. I felt very protective. Reading about so many instances I just couldn’t think of something like that happening to her.
But I realised, this is the time when I need to stand by what I believe in. I have to support her. I have to let her free. Free to make her own choices. To fall, to experience the horrible and then to gain strength and be fearless. If she does not do it now, she will never be able to stand by herself in the future. And so I did. I supported her when she wanted to go for unconventional course of fine arts (Belonging to a family from a small town). I supported her to move to a bigger city and start living away from the shield of parents and her brother. I want her to be successful and build a life around that and not a life around the “General phenomenon of getting married in few years. So just get done with studies”
I stood by her now and I will continue to do so. And so I urge the society to do. These small things if changed, matters the most. Change doesn’t mean doing something phenomenal and big. It starts with how you inculcate what you think in your daily life. Its having the willpower to not ignore the smallest of things that you can change around you. Its to stand up in these situations. Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you will be doing the impossible. What we need is, everyone to do just their part of helping to be an equal society and not be male dominated. What’s sad is, we know how the society operates now is unjust and immoral. We read blogs, articles and news about horrible instances and get angry. We are sickened by it. But how many of us actually go that extra mile of contributing and doing something about it?!