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Fourteen years back, I had a flourishing career and bright future in front of me, and now I was left penniless as my in-laws took over everything my husband owned.
Bob Marley once said, “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have”, and I am a living proof of that.
I had always been a pampered child. My parents raised me like a princess, and my father ensured that I got everything I ever desired. I was raised to be an independent woman, and with my parent’s blessings and hard work, I got my dream job at IBM after completing my MBA in Finance.
My life was going smoothly till a catastrophe hit my family, and I lost my father due to a terminal illness. I was still mourning his loss and was yet to accept the reality when, due to societal pressure, I was married off to my uncle’s son.
My martial life was nothing short of a nightmare for me. After my wedding, I realized my husband didn’t earn enough to support his family.
Despite that, I was ordered to leave my lucrative career and manage the household chores, but not before pledging all my jewellery and saving to fund my husband’s start-up. I had nobody to have my back, and my husband didn’t heed my pleadings.
Things turned worse when I gave birth to my second daughter. No one turned up in the hospital, including my husband, to see my newborn as they were expecting a boy, and I already had one daughter.
The emotional and psychological torture increased to the point where I considered killing myself along with my daughters. I might have gone through with the plan, but looking at their beautiful faces filled me with gratitude, and I decided to fight with my destiny for their sake.
Life took another turn when the deadly COVID virus infiltrated our home, and everything went topsy-turvy. My in-laws and husband were admitted to ICU. While praying for their recovery, I received a call from the hospital stating my husband wanted to see me.
I rushed to the hospital to check on my husband’s condition. I saw him through the surveillance camera, taking his last breath in front of my eyes a few seconds later.
Devastated, I returned home and called my daughters, who were at my native place. I could not muster the courage to tell them that their father had passed away, so I told them he had gone to some place for work.
This time I decided it was not about me any more, my late husband’s property and valuables belonged to my daughters, and I was not going to let anyone snatch their possessions away from them.
I fought tooth and nail and did everything in my power to get my rightful share of the property back from my in-laws, including the jewellery my father had preserved for me.
Finally, after a ten-year hiatus, I returned to work with my head held high. I am a teacher now at an international school and a single mother of two lovely girls.
I am extremely proud of myself, and now when I look back, I can’t believe how I managed to survive the worst phase of my life.
As a teacher, I make sure my students know their worth and always dare to fight for their rights. I tell them every day to never take anything for granted and be always grateful for what they have.
Image source: Author, edited on CanvaPro
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Recent footage of her coming out of an airport had comments preaching karma and its cruel ways, that Samantha "deserved her illness" because she filed for divorce.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu fell from being the public’s sweetheart to a villain overnight because she filed for divorce. The actress was struck with myositis post divorce, much to the joy of certain groups (read sexist) in our society.
A troll responded to Samantha’s tweet, “Women Rising!!” by adding to it “just to fall”. She replied, “Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend.”
Here’s another insensitive tweet by BuzZ Basket showing fake concern for her autoimmune disease. “Feeling sad for Samantha, she lost all her charm and glow. When everyone thought she came out of divorce strongly and her professional life was seeing heights, myositis hit her badly, making her weak again.” Samantha responded, “I pray you never have to go through months of treatment and medication like I did. And here’s some love from me to add to your glow.”
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