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Patriarchy is bad for women, yes. But patriarchy is bad for men too! Fathers who do not know how to express their feelings, suffer!
We have come to recognise that patriarchy hurts women in so many ways, from depriving them of education, fulfilment of dreams and their full potential, to more drastic problems like domestic abuse and rape.
But patriarchy hurts men too. Just like patriarchy forces women in to domestic roles, it pushes men away from having close emotional ties with their family. Men are expected to be the bread winners and take on authoritarian roles with little room for softness and emotion. Honest communication and expression of vulnerabilities is seen as a sign of weakness in men. This makes it difficult for many men to openly express affection for their children, even though they may feel great love for them.
This poem is about the barrier created by a patriarchal society that, sometimes, makes it difficult for a father to communicate his love for his daughter.
Of Fathers And Daughters
The day she was born,
his joy knew no bounds
But his happiness,
could find no sounds.
He knew not how to hug
He knew not how to kiss
He knew not how to be
Affectionate with little miss
When she succeeded,
he experienced pride
But in her,
he could never confide
He felt her pain,
when he saw her suffer
But his shoulder,
he could not offer
When she left home,
he knew he would miss her
But he couldn’t
bring himself to tell her
He wanted to ask,
how she was coping
Instead he asked
What she was studying
They talked about
Einstein, Bradman and Sartre
But they never could share
a heart to heart
Patriarchy imposes useless and harmful restrictions on both men and women, curtailing their freedom, confining them to specific roles they may or may not be well suited for. It is time we break free of the of the cage of patriarchy so everyone can play to their strengths independent of their gender.
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Published here earlier.
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Kanika G, a physicist by training and a mother of 2 girls, started writing to entertain her older daughter with stories, thus opening the flood gates on a suppressed passion. Today she has written over read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
It is shameful that in today's world too, women are abused and even killed for giving birth to a girl, and the infant's life is also of no value.
Trigger Warning: This deals with domestic violence, suicide, and violence against women, and may be triggering to survivors.
I am so glad that the esteemed courts are now giving the much-required verdicts regarding certain ideologies that were not at all entertained earlier. I mean we all have studied this much biology at our school level and it is our duty (our generation) to educate our elders about it.
Why someone have to lose a life to bring such awareness to the society. Delhi High Court gave this judgement concerning a case that filed by the deceased daughter’s parents against her in-laws. She committed suicide as she was harassed and tortured for dowry and giving birth to two daughters.
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