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What does it feel like to be a member of the Women's Web community? A contributor shares what it's like to be in a space where women's stories have a voice and acceptance.
What does it feel like to be a member of the Women’s Web community? A contributor shares what it’s like to be in a space where women’s stories have a voice and acceptance.
I have been reading and immersing myself in the problems, plans, perspectives and solutions and resolutions of women across Women’s Web over the last few days. It has made me feel amazed, joyous, laugh like a maniac, feel teary eyed and poignant. I felt proud and pleased and so many other emotions at all the things I have been reading.
Be it about balancing the masculine and feminine energies required today or gender based segregation of roles and its ramifications for women; or about successful women entrepreneurs from the north-east; the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law; even tips on how to stay on top of one’s finances, there has been a thread of pure resonance and empathy that I have been feeling with all of it.
All I wish to do is, share with the community some of the important aspects of what I see happening here.
There are a number of mental and emotional processes, belief questioning systems that challenge the assumption and judgements that take place through all the writing and sharing. However, a fundamental underlying process that I see running as a single thread through all of this. That of ACCEPTANCE.
I see every article, statement, and all emotions and perspectives that are being poured out as a process of acceptance of oneself, warts and all, that is happening. It is not a one time packaged product, but an ongoing process.
And it is from such acceptance that a wholesome, positive and powerful action emerges. Acceptance allows us to move from a location of victimhood to that of heroism and a harmonising.
It sometimes leads one to acceptance of reality. Only when we accept reality do we discover the power to become larger than reality, larger than the circumstances that define realities. And that is when we are able to transform the realities into opportunities for change.
I feel that this is a major shift that is happening here, at Women’s Web, with every word published.
Each one of us is a STORY TELLER! We just have to browse through a dozen of these pages to get double the number of stories. And stories are the bare bones of psychology and the inner world.
It is through stories, that we make sense of ourselves and the world around us. We make meanings of our lives through their reflections in the stories that we listen to and exchange.
It is for this reason that we tell stories to our children. Stories are fundamentally how the soul transfer happens. And each of us have multiple stories in our pockets, pans, baskets, up our sleeves, folded into skirts and kerchiefs. Stories tied into our hair, crowded in our heads, stuffed into suitcases and cardboard cartons. The ones thrown deep into the loft, at the tip of our pens and fingers, just waiting to flow out….
As we tell our stories of hope, love, suffering, fears, friendship, old and new lives, hurts, discoveries, the basic mother story, seems to be of acceptance!
It is very important to understand one’s location in the larger canvas of events. And how one is related and impacting or contributing to the collective.
Women’s Web is an initiative for women to share. It is, for the most part, if not all, WOMEN WRITING ABOUT WOMEN.
Women are talking about things that matter to women. They are talking about the challenges they face, the struggles they go through, the happiness, and achievements. We are telling our stories.
If you undertake even a cursory browsing of history you will understand how significant this is. For ages, we have had men telling the stories of women. Narratives will largely be male-centric if they are written by men – they can be otherwise, but this has been rather sparse, few and far between.
An example of such a male voice could be Satyajit Ray – his cinema could perhaps be said to have women narratives and voices. Over the years, there have also been women who have struggled to bring out the voices of women.
However, this has always remained the minority. It is in recent years that we are waking up to this phenomenon. Women have started to write about women.
Women’s Web is enhancing this movement in a big way.
More power to us and them!
Picture credits: Pexels
Yoga therapist in the Krishnamacharya tradition who also adapts Reiki, chanting, life coaching & Ayurvedic practices in her healing spaces. She is committed to building collectives and communities that have the praxis of Yoga at their read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
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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.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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