If you are passionate about teaching, then Hackberry offers you franchise opportunities to turn this passion into your profession!
Recognize your strength, fight back the patriarchy, misogyny and the fear of unknown. Don’t get cowed down by the muscle strength. You are more!
Let me be, this is me.
I am born a female, let it be
Don’t kill me in the womb,
Do I deserve to be?
Let me learn, thrive and fly
Don’t cut my wings to fix it on my sibling brother
Remember, my life is not for philanthropic deeds!
Let me be, this is me
I may be a geek, a fashionista, a narrow minded or a happy go
I may not always drape a sari for the societal convenience though
Don’t judge based on my attire, caste, creed, color, and body.
I may be ambitious, or just want to raise my kids,
It is my choice, no opinion, please.
Coming late from office, parties,
It is my option
That doesn’t give anyone the right to stalk or rape
Yet, if you baffle that it’s all my fault
I know my sisters who were raped within their four walls.
Married I am life doesn’t end here
I need a partner, not a master to enslave me
Give me my rights
I have already given yours
Gave your name to my kids unconditionally
Despite the hour’s long labour pain
Don’t clutch me, don’t force
I won’t take it, I affirm.
I am not a Sita anymore, nor a Draupadi
I know how to fight back
I gave you birth, fed you and nurtured
Taught you how to walk, and to read
Ushered you to the path, till you find your way
Son, don’t despise me when I am old.
Nor consider me your kids’ nanny!
The man in you is the one I brought up,
Believe me, when I say, don’t dare to
A mother, sister, wife, daughter, lover or a friend
Mould me with love and I will be yours forever
I don’t expect you to protect me,
Just make it safe for us to walk on the roads, office, schools or at home
That’s all you need to do
Listen, don’t think about harming one more,
Don’t take my patience for weakness
I am a woman, created the universe through my womb
Destructive I came be, to what extent you can never fathom!
Note: Ode to all the women out there!
Image via Pixabay
Sheeba Vinay is a writer by profession and an aspiring Criminologist. Her write-ups have been published in Lokmat Times, TOI and various platforms like Women's Web, Momspresso, Storymirror, India Imagine and SHEROES. She read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, indivisual posts do not necessarily represent the platofrom's views and opinions at all times.
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We are conditioned to normalise domestic violence out of fear of abandonment. Thinking that 'trauma bonding' is better than no bonding holds us back from speaking up!
(Trigger Warning: This post may be triggering for survivors of domestic violence. This post has been published especially to honour the International Day For The Elimination of Violence Against Women.)
Everyone said my perfect husband was like Lord Ram…. but this is how he took unfair advantage of my tolerance!
My grandmother was very fond of my husband whose name is synonymous with Lord Ram’s name. Every call she made to my husband started with the bhajan “Aaj sab mil mangal gao, Awadh mai, raam aye hain“. (Hail everyone, sing praises, Lord Ram has come in the kingdom of Awadh.) It was a mandatory welcome song whenever she met him or even spoke to him on the phone. Yes, his attributes were like that of Lord Ram. His attitude, chivalry, persona, fair skin, smile, height, physique and charm illustrate the perfect image of Lord Ram.
Alone in the apartment the whole day, Riya used to feel claustrophobic. She could not imagine anyone living in with just one bunk to call one’s own. She thought about the clean air and the verdant hills of Siliguri.
The Muse of the Month is a monthly writing contest organised by Women’s Web, bringing you original fiction inspired by women.
Harshita Nanda is one of the winners for the November 2021 Muse of the Month, and wins a Rs 750 Amazon voucher from Women’s Web. The juror for this month, Anuradha Kumar commented, “This is truly an unusual, and moving mother-daughter story, set dually in Dubai and Siliguri. This story of courage, determination, and love of the mother, and the growing awareness on the daughter’s part is really insightful and very moving. A very contemporary story, featuring characters not much written about before.”
Mothers are bombarded with unsolicited parenting advice at every chance. Here is an open letter venting out the frustrations of mommies out there!
Dear Unsolicited Parenting Advice Giving Acquaintance (or as I like to call them : UPAGA),
I hope this letter finds you in the pink of health. Oh, are you wondering if this is meant for you? Let me make it easy for you to figure that out – if you have ever felt compelled to tell your new neighbor what she should feed her newborn, then yes it is for you; if you have shared your pearls of wisdom regarding parenting with a woman in a mall on how to control her kid’s ‘rage’ issues, then you should read on. If you haven’t done either (yet!) you should still continue reading to not fall into the category at a later stage… because you will.
Woman, do not aspire to be the 'typical good girl' as society defines you should be. You deserve better in your life. Stand up for it.
Woman, do not aspire to be the ‘typical good girl’ as society defines you should be. You deserve better in your life. Stand up for it.
I am thankful to my parents who ensured that there was no gender bias at home while I was growing up. So, I was the elder child and I was the one who got to make the choices first. I was never asked to choose music over sports and cooking over books. Even when I turned into a slightly introverted teenager, my parents ensured that I mingled with people from both genders.
So, while growing up, I was mostly unaware of gender stereotyping except for a few occasional remarks from some neighbors and relatives about how I was mostly found in the playground playing cricket with boys instead of doing something that according to them was ‘more suited for a teenage girl’. My parents nodded, smiled, ignored and never bothered; neither did I!