She who stands alone, outshining the crowd, undaunted, still remains unacceptable (in most spheres). By the way, I am Vijeyta Panjwani, a woman, here to share what all my fellows hold in their hearts.
With me writing this here today, the above statement seems a little misfit but is actually not. This bitter truth is persistent in not just the so-called rural areas but even amongst us, in a lighter form, maybe. It ranges from, “don’t you wish to talk while the boys go out and play?” to “how can you be so loud about your menstruation?”.
From assumed “housewives” to merciless “mother-in-laws”, from “sophisticated” shy girls, to “silent sufferers”, it’s a TV soap opera ritual to demean the traits, characteristics and essence of feminity. The irony is that the mean, evil/shy, silent, domesticated, and enslaved characters are portrayed by successful, admired and high-persona women who are still paid less than their male counterparts.
Such untrue depictions of women make innocent girls dream of a rich life partner when they should envision their path to the sky. Such unfortunate conditions of TV shows make girls look out for security than being their shield. Add to it, men always dominate over women in such shows.
In this way comes a clear training for some males to justify their undesired behaviour with their mothers, female friends, sisters and sometimes even teachers. The advertisement and television depiction of a “cool dude” with sexist ideas and an “ideal girl” with the domesticated undermining of her talent has formulated an unequal society.
Its roots are completely in our hands. A change from Rapunzel to Power-Puff Girls; from Zee TV shows to Epics and Reality shows with female success stories will initiate a change from “you go and gossip” to “we admire you, show us the way”. We might even lead t, not just female ID cards having W/O or D/O but male ID cards highlighting H/O.