“Equal Rights” shouldn’t have to be granted. They are not something that we should have to fight for, or something that one segment gets to bestow upon another. Equal Rights are fundamental to humans and should actually be assumed. However, the world has never been a fair place. Many women before us had to fight for basic privileges, right to education, right to vote, right to own property and right to inheritance. We are that much closer to an ‘Equal’ world because of such brave women and heroic men who supported such causes. We should be immensely grateful to them. One way to repay them is to help those that still struggle to reach the place which we enjoy today.
Today’s world is hardly utopian. In many parts of the world, we enjoy right to vote, education and inheritance. Even there, there are gender biases and strong expectations of a woman’s role. These stereotype expectations are especially hard on women. Let me share a secret with you. All women are not cast from the same mold. We are not identical to each other. It is okay to pick roles that best suit us as individuals without giving into the societal pressures. It is okay to be yourselves instead of being what the society wants you to be. It is perfectly okay to be a home maker, a career oriented woman or both. You need to find something that you enjoy most and you do best according to your own will. Always remember, society can control you only to the extent you let it.
The modern world congratulates us women for perfectly balancing various roles with a demure smile. We are often expected to be awesome daughters, impressive wives, obedient daughters-in-law, outstanding mothers and successful career women all in one. This type of expectation is putting more and more pressure on modern women. The world created a mythical super woman that can do it all. Measuring up to those standards can stress out anybody. It almost seems that, when the home maker became a career woman to shoulder some of the ‘bread-winning’ burden, she forgot to let her partner share the ‘home-making’ burden. Don’t try to do it all yourself. If you are going to work outside as hard as your husband, expect your husband to work as hard as you at home. It’s not a woman’s responsibility alone to balance her home-life with work-life but it’s a man’s responsibility too. True heroes are those men and women who respect each other and help each other as partners. No one is less or more in a relationship. When women are progressing to take on multiple roles, we need men to do the same. I bet men can be equally good cooks, good sons and good parents. I need not bet as I have actually seen some awesome men. You don’t have to share every task equally but you need to help each other to avoid unreasonable burden on one individual. The world is a beautiful partnership between men and women. Let us cherish it!
Next time when you meet your working mom, remember to appreciate her and help her in the household chores.
Let us start breaking the gender-stereotypes today. Let us learn to be better team players at home and work.
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