THOUSAND DIFFERENT WOMEN

At this point, as I sit in my office chair, I think of everything that I can do, could do, and will do differently as I go along the way. Establishing yourself in a place and coming from a place where women are often taught to react or behave in certain ways, I comprehend how a woman is brought up to play certain roles she didn't know she would play or taught to complete all the responsibilities she thought she wouldn't be obliged to do. How is it easier to live in a world where women are still overpowered by people in charge? Now, I believe, as you will read in this statement, that some of you say no. We believe in equality. And on the other hand, if you are credited for the idea or rewarded for something a woman did, you will take it without a second thought. The belief system a woman carries in herself is multifarious, and the belief system in which we live as collective humans is considered one, yet we treat women differently. How is it fair?

Development is a tricky word, yet we are behind when it comes to treating people right. We have come a long way from criticizing women to making a place for them in every sector, but there is still a part of me that sees that there is no development in our homes where we learn the best from everyone. She wears expectations of others like layers; she is a thousand different women. That’s why people don’t see her the way she is; they just see a woman fulfilling everything she has been told or taught. Look around you—the women who are traveling, working, and pursuing education—and keep up with the expectations people set for them. She plays a role that everyone expects her to play, and more than that, she takes criticism like she can improve it every time. A woman, I believe, is much more than just human. A woman who is in the village cleaning her house with cow dung, wakes up in the morning, goes to find food, and works in the house is equal to the woman who is sitting on the chair making decisions about an organization and the people in it. And the handwork, determination, and zeal a woman puts in by feeding her family is equal to that of a woman who helps expand an organization.

We see interviews and workshops and attend opulent seminars on women's empowerment, yet we approach them differently than others. There are two different worlds, two different perspectives, and multiple belief systems that we address as one society and one world. In these twos of everything, there are multiples of something, and simultaneously, in those multiples, there are twos of everything. We live in this society, by this society, and we will go from this only one society. But how is it different from one created for women and men? How is a woman working towards her career until her 30s different from men who are 30? You see how there are two different worlds she lives in. She doesn’t reside in your world, yet people expect women to live and do for your world more than she does for her own.

You see, there are two types or multiple versions of opinions people carry with themselves. I tell you this from my personal experience: there is this guy I remember who is talking about women's empowerment in front of people in his workplace, and then when he gets out of the office, he says, “I don’t want my daughter to get inspired by an IAS.” It is astonishing to know that the same person who is talking about women's equality and right to education is the same person who chastised them in their own house. Every day, you see a person, but there is a different perspective they carry within themselves. Is it that difficult to accept us as one? Do we expect people to accept us as one in this developed society?

While I write this article and put more thought into it, I also state that women are way simpler than people who state them as "complicated." You just have to see that they can also wear pants if they want to. Women today should be treated the way people speak about them. Often read and discussed, the quote “speak your mind” does not align with the actions people take or think. But there are women in my life who are thriving in their careers, making ends meet day by day, but on the other hand, there are also women who are criticized. So, I have seen both worlds; I have experienced those worlds, yet I believe that someday these two will be one. Someday a father will believe that her daughter is the son of the house, a brother will stop his parents from criticizing his sister, a parent will stop their relatives from making decisions about their daughter’s future, and society will understand that their job is to motivate the woman in their community too, to build a future for herself where she is happy, herself, and most importantly, a person.