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True freedom will be achieved when we will be in actual control of our lives with no pressure to conform to the wants of the world.
“She ran and ran, feeling the freedom, destination stayed distant, Until she felt a shackle around her feet, invisible but existent”
Feminism. A movement, a revolution that was aimed at liberating women from gender discrimination and gendered dominance of men. It gave the presumed ‘weaker sex’ a voice; it armed us with the tools to level the playing field and seek equality of sexes.
The era of domination of men was no longer welcome, as women after women started breaking the glass ceiling and upsetting the scales of gender discrimination. Today, women are reaching new heights in all spheres of life. Today, women are surgeons, engineers, astronauts and what not. But have we really achieved freedom in true sense?
Yes, we have taken huge strides in every walk of life but somewhere, we have still not broken through the chains of societal pressure.
Our fight was not against men, it was to seek freedom; but even in the freedom we have attained, we are still enslaved by the standards set by men over a thousand years, that condition our minds. Most of us have just managed to convince ourselves that it is us who seek those standards. Even the most successful of women are besotted with the cosmetic standards fed to us by the incessant advertisements.
Now some may say that the desire to look beautiful is a natural desire and I completely agree with it, as long as we want to feel beautiful for ourselves, to feel good about ourselves. But the desire to look beautiful in order to get likes on Facebook, Instagram etc is not natural. The hunger to get “Nice DP” comments on social media is by no means a sign of freedom.
How else do you explain the need to wear heels? They are medically proven to be a torture on your back and dangerous for our spine, legs, ankles… and also highly uncomfortable to walk in. Yet, we wear it because we have been made to believe that they make us look and feel sexy.
The need to wear push-up bra is not liberating but a kind of mental slavery served as ‘sexiness’, for we women must perk up our breasts as per male desire. This is not freedom by any means if inspite of breaking the glass ceiling, we still have to resort to use that very same glass as a mirror to see ourselves and try to satisfy the long established concepts of beauty.
Concepts that were conceptualized by men in first place.
This is not the freedom we must seek for it is nothing but a smokescreen. If we still have to worry about how tight our thighs look in a denim, or how in vogue our hairstyle is as per the current fashion trend, or how my breasts are perfectly fitting the shallow ideals of this society, then we have achieved as much freedom as a lion who has been transferred from the cage in a circus to an enclosure in a zoo.
The real freedom, lies in being free in the wild. Where the hair are messy but the happiness is perfect. Where I can brew my own coffee and sit down to sip it leisurely, planning my next destination without an iota of worry if I am fitting in with the cosmetic benchmarks of what is a successful woman.
Freedom is where I can walk into a store in pyjamas because I am comfortable in it, and buy myself whatever I want with my own hard earned money.
Freedom is when I will be judged at my office on basis of my work and not on the smell of my perfume.
Freedom when I don’t have to marry because the society expects me to but only if and when I feel the need to.
Freedom lies in being unconventional and exploring the world on my terms and as per my schedule. This is what feminism sought for us, and this is what we all must seek. Equality in true sense. Freedom in its purest form.
“She felt that shackle wither into dust, and the bars of society disappeared, Her ship was sailing in her own ocean, and she alone to commandeer.”
Image source: a still from the film Piku
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Menopause is a reality in women's lives, so Indian workplaces need to gear up and address women's menopausal needs.
Picture this: A seasoned executive at the peak of her career suddenly grapples with hot flashes and sleep disturbances during important meetings. She also battles mood swings and cognitive changes, affecting her productivity and confidence. Eventually, she resigns from her job.
Fiction? Not really. The scenario above is a reality many women face as they navigate menopause while meeting their work responsibilities.
Menopause is the time when a woman stops menstruating. This natural condition marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years. The transition brings unique physical, emotional, and psychological changes for women.
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