Women for Women

 We’ve been living in a world designed for men for far too long, and its high time we show how the world looks like from our eyes.

Next time someone belittles you for not being ambitious, tell them about how most women are raised to be good wives, and how we have failed as a society to provide gender neutral education.

Next time someone humiliates you for not being financially independent, remind them about how parents and partners encourage women to ‘stay at home because their family needs them.’

Next time someone says that women are not reliable at work, educate them on the unfair split of domestic work in households and how women bear the load of taking care of young children and aging parents.

Next time someone claims that women are weak at STEM, remind them how women were pushed towards the arts at school and work because ‘women are not smart enough for math and science’.

Next time someone calls women bad drivers, make them aware about how such ancient and unproven stereotypes are leading to insecure women drivers.

Next time someone calls a woman shabbily dressed, help them understand that they are wrong to have unrealistic standards of beauty for women, and it is leading to a wide range of body image issues in women.

Next time someone shames a woman for being ‘skimpily dressed’, tell them how the right to dress how one is most comfortable in is so basic, yet women have been devoid of it for centuries.

Next time someone says that children are more attached to their mothers, tell them that this is a lazy excuse for men to relieve themselves of their equal duties as a father.

Next time someone says that women are better at cooking and cleaning, remind them about the years of social conditioning that has ingrained this belief so deeply.

Next time someone says that women are ineffective at putting their point across, remind them about the centuries when women were forbidden to express any opinion on important matters at home or at work.

Next time someone tells you that solo travel is unsafe for women, ask them about what, and who makes it unsafe for women? The answer would be men.

Next time someone calls a woman too cold, or too emotional, help them understand that this is one of many examples of how the world has been designed to be a no-win game for women.

Next time someone pokes fun at an unmarried woman, tell them about how the world has changed, being married is a choice and the independence and security of a woman does not depend on a man anymore.

Next time someone calls a woman a ‘diversity hire’, tell them how this narrative has been undermining the meritocracy of our gender at the workplace.

When someone shames a woman for not being ‘maternal’, remind them about how the identity of a woman should not be restricted and defined by their ability to be a good daughter, a good wife or a good mother.

To all the women reading this, our self-esteem, ambition and expectations are the first victims of gender stereotypes.

We are not limited by our mental aptitude, or our physical strength. We are limited by years and years of societal restrictions and familial conditioning.

Today, let’s celebrate US, as we take small steps together to correct centuries of injustice and oppression.