Ode to Women….WE Matter Most

An Ode To Women Who Love Women - Review - Voice Magazine

 

International Women’s day is a couple of days away and this year’s theme is  “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. Bouquets will be exchanged, speeches will be delivered, women achievers felicitated, proverbial trumpets of women-power will be blown and WhatsApp messages will salute womanhood like rapid-fire ammunition. Our annual ritual will conclude well. Then, as usual, all the clamour and applause will get lost into oblivion.

  • Will there be a change and seriously who are these debates and discussions for?
  • Who is this fight for?
  • Is it for women or for those who want to appease and pay lip service to women empowerment?
  • Is this battle truly for ensuring the dignity and respect for women to safeguard us?
  • Is it for acknowledgement and recognition that all of us deserve an unique and powerful position in society?
  • Does it lead to substantial and visible change or the struggle continues?

Harsh Reality

It is indeed dismal that in the real world despite all the hoopla, women continue to be relegated to the background to be exploited and discriminated in a man’s world. Sadly in our country we have one of the lowest participation in the job market and the pandemic has only exacerbated the situation with increase in number of women opting out of the job market. Yes, we talk of women achievers  who have reached the pinnacle and the corridors of power in different walks of life. They certainly are our icons and kudos to them but do remember they are a mere 5% of leadership positions.

It is unfortunate we allow ourselves to be in the sacrificial fire, to be treated as second fiddle to eventually slip into the oblivion. We have conditioned to feel less entitled, expect less, demand less than men in all aspects of our lives, downplay our small or big achievements and underestimate our own potential.

We are forever torn between our conflicting priorities at home and work. And when we make it, we are the “only ones”  amongst our male colleagues. Being the exception is fine and perhaps an honour but the microscopic scrutiny, criticism, and backlash that follows of what we do and how we do is damning.Yes,it requires real will power and strength to come out of the  feeling of “curse of being a woman”. Words hurt, aggression hurts, discrimination hurts and we hurt silently but we shake it off and survive another day. We console ourselves it’s all about their perception and  person and not our own or even worse that is how it is meant to be and resign to fate. Really? Most certainly not!

You Are What You Think You Are

History and legends has time and again proved that our feminism is our unique and special gift that helps us to survive the toughest storm. It is indeed ironical that we are in the land where we worship Goddesses like Durga,Lakshmi,Saraswati,Kali and bask in the glory of legends like Rani Lakshmi Bai. They all embody women power and personify one or the other attributes of a women icon for us to emulate & worship yet we continue to struggle in our fight for our identity.

The Multifaceted Role

It is time the world  change their lens and recognise women are not helpless or submissive but the valiant warriors toiling hard to succeed in a man’s world. Face it, no one can play the multifaced roles we do so adeptly and effectively. We are perfectly in tune with the warrior within us as well as our maternal instincts and juggle adeptly the many facets of our live even though at times ridden with guilt,we continue to move on. We continue to prove ourselves in every role we play as a daughter,wife,homemaker,mother and a successful professional. Each role we play sets us and defines us is our family and our work and gives us strength and work our identity. Our inner compass always will keep pushing us to cope with the multiple responsibilities we have whatever the circumstances.

Adaptability & Resilience

In recent time we have taken in our strides the increase burden of domestic load, care giving to our children and elders only to find to our dismay that the gaps in our pay and broken rungs in our progression and growth our further retarded.Regardless, even in crisis when our own life has been hanging in balance our indomitable spirit has kept us alive. Our beauty lies not just in our physical appearance but our calm and serene visage, the grace and dignity with which we carry ourselves. We adapt and adjust to every situation that we encounter. Our unshakeable inner strength helps us to remain strong, to beat the odds and vanquish the unconquerable. We are forever balancing, compromising, doing our best to find our place, move ahead to manage our relationships and responsibilities.

Purposeful and Perseverance.

Yes, we are the survivors who weather the  many storms and remain unruffled as we move towards our goal. Each day given the multiple responsibilities we discharge, we always find ourselves short of  time and at time basic resources and amenities.Yet, we remain focused, disciplined and mindful not only on our goals but the possible pitfalls and deterrents that come our way. Patience and perseverance remain our virtue as we step out to be the torch bearer back to lead the way from darkness to light, to cut short our losses and to make things happen.

Positivity and Wellbeing of Others

In fact, not only we nurture our families, we women are the glue that binds people together. We radiate positivity and can conquer the world with our smile, even while we cry quietly as it is surely hard to make it in a man’s world. Even when we feel dejected when the world looks upon us with indifference or are even contempt, we set aside our bruised egos, choose the path of peace to chase away all the negative energies that surround us to rebound again. We have the largess to spread happiness, love and compassion to our family, our friends, our colleagues or our team. Our devotion and commitment for our children and our loved ones is unparalleled and we do everything in our means to dispel their discomfort and pain.

Know Our Mind

Such is our strength that we remain humble and are constantly in quest for knowledge and wisdom. We are in a perpetual motion of learning, relearning from our mistakes to correct ourselves(We get so much of feedback on our shortcomings -don’t we?). More often than not we are told we are far too sensitive, too emotional, too soft but that’s what we are and want to be. In fact in today’s day that is what the world needs compassion and empathy to move away from fear, sorrow and greed that is the bane of the world we live in.

Inspire Each Other

We are an inspiration for others no matter what we do and draw inspiration from other women who our role models and have risen to the phoenix on their own terms to make the world a better place. We must use our own success as a source of self-motivation and our voice not only to be heard but amplified to celebrate the success of each other. By lending each other our wisdom, strength and motivation we can move on in the journey of life. We must stand up for other women and help aspiring women to achieve and inspire to succeed not like an enigma but as someone who makes mistakes and succeeds.

Dare to Dream

Yes, we dare to dream big, achieve great heights and set new benchmarks. We aspire to be the beacon for others to follow. In fact we are the full circle. We are already equipped to stand up to create, nurture with love and compassion and transform or destroy with courage and grit depending upon the circumstances. The world needs us more than ever before. Accordingly let us embrace ourselves and believe that we are no less than our male counterparts. Let us not live to please the world and be dictated by what others beliefs but  listen to our heart and feel blessed being a woman.

We are what we are and no one’s lens matters. We must  move out of the shadow of stereotypes, biases and constraints that come our way to succeed and to forge our life on our own terms. It is only when we repose faith in ourselves, become our own cheerleaders and dare to raise our voice when faced with injustice and unapologetically define our own path. Miracles happen and dreams come true. Become the torch bearer, stand up and stand out and achieve success to be an inspiration for others to follow.

Let this debate come to an end and make women empowerment a reality.

Cheers to all of us! Make your dreams come true! You can do it!