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Creator, destroyer, mother, goddess, woman. Some versions are celebrated, some are shunned. Why is that?
Who am I?I wonder…
They say I am Janani, I am the creator of them.But why then do they kill me – in the womb, at my birth?They are born of me; their birth is celebrated with glee.But, why are no robust celebrations held at my birth?Where will they come from, if there were to be no me?Do they ever wonder?
They say I am Ma, the mother goddess, the protector.But why then do they only pay obeisance to my idols in temples?Can they not see that their idol is a representation of me?They seek protection from my idol yet I am offered no protection?I am subjugated, oppressed, abused and dishonored.Do they ever question their actions?
They say I am the Devi, the granter of boons.But then, why do they shun me when I menstruate?Is the sign of procreation not the greatest boon of all?Why do they shame me, isolate me when I bleed for them?Why am I removed from society and family?What is this hypocrisy?
They say, I am the gruhalaxmi, the Goddess of fortune.They clothe me in red; apply vermillion and a red tika.They apply red dye to my hands and feet, save the impressions.They say that my steps into my new home will bring prosperity.And yet, my daughter, born of my womb is bemoaned?Are these the same people?
Is the colour of my blood different from the colour of my suhag?Is scarlet not red? Is scarlet not vermillion?Why is there such distinction in the colours?Or, is the distinction in the black hearts of the people?Are they unable to see that we all bleed the same?When will they see that we are all equal?
I wonder…
Image by Maike und Björn Bröskamp from Pixabay
Sonal is a multiple award winning blogger and writer and the founder of a women-centric manpower search firm - www.rianplacements.com. Her first book, a volume of poetry - Islands in the stream - is slated read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. 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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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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