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Recently, a young woman was murdered at her workplace in Pune - revealing the extent to which contempt for independent women exists.
Recently, a young woman was murdered at her workplace in Pune – revealing the extent to which contempt for independent women exists.
I wrote this poem to talk about the way parents raise their daughters to become independent and strong, to be treated as equals. In this poem, I imagine what a girl’s parents might say to her when she moves out to work and live on her own. Unfortunately, our judicial setup turns a blind eye to victims like the Late K. Rasila Raju.
Editor’s Note: Rasila was murdered at her office campus, a place one might imagine to be ‘safe’ for women – by a man who could not tolerate an independent woman who dared to call him out on his behaviour towards her.
They held my hand and sat me down On the red sofa I had played upon.
You are a woman now, As you step out to take the world in your stride, Remember you are second to none, As long as you don’t fail yourself Walk with your chin up In days of joy and sorrow alike.
You are a woman now, Remember to be nice, But never believe you are made of sugar and spice. You have a brain and abilities like a man, Walk equal and talk eye to eye. Work as hard to remain an equal, Enjoy your life as it gets bigger.
You are a woman now, Don’t let your aspirations die In the face of conditions that society will apply. Wear a dress that makes you happy But don’t let the warmth in your heart fade. You are our every thing Ever since you came into being.
You are a woman now, To the world, you are all grown up, But to us, you are still a little girl. This is to the twinkle in your eyes, May you have a very happy life.
Top image via Unsplash
Shruti is a marketing & branding professional with interest in health, lifestyle, women empowerment & education. You can visit her here read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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