A couple of quick things before we move on to the actual emotion behind this post.
“Are you the feminist type?” – Also translated as ‘Do you hate men?’
“We need humanism and not feminism”- Just to clarify- Humanism has nothing to do with gender, it means not believing in any kind of super natural forces. Until you do not believe men to be ghosts or worse devils, this word has no meaning in your discussion.
But I understand what they are trying to say- albeit through a rather skewed dictionary sense.
Why feminism when we can battle for equality?
Equality. Equal. Are men and women same? No. Are they equal? That’s like asking if apples and oranges are equal. Can they be understood equally well? Yes that’s what the intent is at large.
For years every Women’s Day without fail a post goes live on my blog. In all its intent my idea is to mark my presence in the belief that we are far from a time when the need for women’s day is absent in our society. I will be the happiest as and when this day arrives.
Women are 48.5% of the general population of India
Women earn 62% of men’s salary for equal work
Women are just 3% of legislative, management, and senior official positions
54% of companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100 have no women board directors
But these above stats should not make a difference to you. Because there is almost nothing you can do to bring about any change in these numbers. But what is it that you can do?
You can understand your woman better.
What has been your single most fear?
Come on, you got to bare it all here.
Wait, let me share mine.
That I will not be woman enough.
A very sanskari get up for ‘woman enough’
Yes. It is real. And if you think I am alone in this then go ask your wife, sister or even mother and she might move it in circles but the crux is all same.
Women today have so many roles to play. As my aunt rightly puts, “It was easier in olden days, they had to take care of the kids and home and were sorted. Today we need to own a career, plan our finances, manage our party looks- in addition to kids, home and usuals”.
When you see your woman sitting on the chair gazing out in the open space go and tell her she is beautiful. Because behind all that office mess she is wondering if she losing her charm. Remind her she isn’t.
When you watch her grappling with a harrowing mother in law on phone asking her when will the line of descendants arrive, give her smile. Hold her hand and let her know- she has all the time in the world.
No matter what they say- biological clock is every woman’s worst nightmare.
If she has given up her job to take care of your house and kids, appreciate her each day. Take out time to work out a way when she can plan her comeback. Assist her in preparing for that elusive second innings. Whether it happens or not, your support will be enough for her self-esteem.
This women’s day bring to your life the simple joys of understanding her better. Bring her close to knowing that you care.
Make her believe she is woman enough. In fact more than enough.
It’s International Women’s Week & if you’ve written a post about being a woman or a special lady in your life , link it up here & experience this charm.
I guess how ever sorted we seem at the end of the day we thrive on appreciation and support . Just one tiny gesture of acknowledgement and we can scale mountains .
Richa , you aren’t just woman enough . You are a super woman . If your husband doesn’t tell this to you enough ( which is unlikely ) a lot of us can send you daily reminders .
Just like you keep reiterating it to me 🙂
PS : So happy you wrote 🙂
You spoke my heart, Richa !!! Women are more than enough. Mind blowing article. Hope every men and my man should read this piece. Thanks for raising your voice for #WomenOfBlogging. Sure, I love to join with you.
This is so true! At the end of the day, amid all the hustle and bustle, looking after work and home and all the things that go into it, a word of appreciation, of support, of love is like a balm to our hearts. Being taken for granted, especially when men don’t see all that a woman gives up for her family, hurts. And yes, I also await the day when we don’t need a woman’s day any more. I wonder if it will come during my lifetime – I doubt it, but I hope!
The fear of not being woman enough, I guess it engulfs most women I know. Maybe it is because of the society we live in, maybe it is because women are put on this pedestal and are under constant judgement. Maybe it is the pressure to do the right thing always (of course who knows what is right – but then that is another debate)
The truth is women are made to feel inadequate always. There is always something you can do more or better in the eyes of the people around you. The sad part is when women judge you for being who you are and doing what you do!
The least that can be done is tell the women in your life how much they matter and show them how much you care. The men need to do it, but the women especially need to do it.
PS: You are the most fabulous woman I know and I am so glad to have you in my life.
We all are chaos that is like poetry.
In this beautiful post you collect our scattered chaos and weave them into a story that is the movie of all our lives.
Love you for penning down this beautiful post.
Not being a woman enough – aren’t we told this from the time we are little girls? But yes a little bit of appreciation is all that is needed to make someone’s day.
There is so much pressure on us that sometimes I feel just to break the stereotypes, we end up doing more than we should. To ensure that those who come after us have the choices we didn’t have, we end up taking more roles so that no one can say “A woman can’t do that”
Appreciation and acknowledgment make a big difference. I read a beautiful story once of a tired mother who went to the supermarket with her two little kids. A woman approached her daughter, smiled and said, “You are so lucky to have such a dedicated mother.” The mother felt so much better cos that’s the first time someone took the time out to appreciate her.
As women, I think we should start believing that we’re good enough, instead of constantly worrying if whatever we’re doing is somehow not.
Loved the post, Richa!And gorgeous pic.
Such a beautiful post, Richa! We all need that reminder sometimes, that we are enough, we are beautiful and we have that support. I made my husband read my latest post. I always make him read the first draft and he goes “Hmmm..Good”. It was the same response this time but after a pause as I was walking to the other room to complete it, he simply said “I am proud of you” And that one line I know will keep me going for days to come.
We can do a great job at self motivation but when someone else gives that little push we fly even higher!
P.S. If you ever ever feel you aren’t women enough, just look around you and see the many women (me included) who look upto you and take inspiration from you. Love you lots!
This must be the perfect post on women’s and yes women’s day too, that I read .
Often I have been struggling with the meaning of feminist and yes today you made it clear to me very easily with the second line you wrote on it
I don’t know why does feminist word got invented, we woman never uttered that we don’t want man in our life?
We do.
And Happy women’s day Richa Ji and also to greetings to the man who made you such courageous woman.
Acknowledgement is all what we want- A little word of praise boost us up to reach for superwoman, which anyway should not exist – We need not prove ourselves to anyone. We we bound ourselves to tags. But yes, when someone acknowledges your sacrifices and accepts our self-love theory, it encourages us to take up more than usual. I agree with your point- We should not use Feminism because God has made us different and we should appreciate his blessings and powers given to womanhood. Safety is what we seek for our children; being a girl or a boy. A strong blow to all the fanatics Richa.