It is the 8th of march and once again the whole world is echoing the word 'EQUALITY'.
Who are we as women talking to at the time when we demand equality?
By the sheer demand, we declare ourselves a marginalized lot, and expect acceptance in this world as an equal sex.
My experience in this world as a priveleged person who was educated and given equal rights tells me that we are going wrong somewhere.
If we want equality as women, we have to stop demanding it and stop crying for it.
We have to collectively make it possible and do it quietly.
We have to stop accusing men for deliberately holding us back and look within ourselves to see where our faults lie and why we are unequal.
How many of us come together to do something substantial which achieves commercial success and is inclusive of women?
Why do we expect men to do it for us?
How many of us trust and depend on each other to come together, without the help of men to achieve a position of equal representation in all walks of life?
Who stops us from doing that?
No it is not men whom we accuse, it is us, ourselves.
We hand over our opportunities to men.
We give them more importance than ourselves and buy their affections by doing that.
It's we who do not accept the responsibility of taking charge of a family, leave alone anything else, resting the burden on the shoulders of our men, and then we cry foul and complain that our men dominate us.
Let's look at ourselves long and hard on this day and let us get honest here.
How many of us have the courage to tell our men to enjoy life, raise our children and take charge of the home, while we will go out there and bring back enough for us to eat, drink, educate and provide shelter for ourselves?
Most of the working women I know earn and treat their income as their own money, while the responsibility of the family is on their husbands.
Unless they come from low middle class backgrounds or are a poorer lot who have no choice but to contribute towards the income of their households, all so called priveleged women who are meant to lead by example and supposed to be inspiring and aspirational, sink into the comfort of neither taking responsibility nor being accountable.
It is convenient to be a home bird, be house proud, be a great mother and a perfect hostess, rather than to step into the world, call the shots, make mistakes, survive and create worlds within worlds which provide platforms and opportunities for more and more women.
Yes, men like it that way, but would they dare stop us, if we were to defy the norm and step forward and actually do what is necessary?
Men operate collectively and create place for other men.
They look after women, children and employ men and women to give them a better life.
Show me how many women really go out there and collectively do the same?
We're afraid of being labelled loose, forward, lesbians and whores.
We are the first in casting aspersions on another who is more forward and progressive than us, rather than applauding and honouring her.
We give it to men on a platter because they need to do nothing to stall a woman from taking flight, except unleash other women upon her,
We are afraid of being judged by the very men whom we accuse all the time anyway.
We fear their opinion, therefore get manipulated by them to compete with each other rather than to work in harmony 'with' each other.
Lets face it, if we do not rise, and if we do not take a collective responsibility to bring women up as equals to men, it is never going to happen.
Lets endorse a new culture in the world of women where we are equal to men.
Where better to start than within ourselves, who are educated, priveleged and given to believe that we have equal rights?
If we change, we will certainly see the effect percolate down to the lowest common denominator and realize how important it is for us to understand that fault lies with us and not with the opposite sex.
If we do not become innovative, creative, business minded, ambitious, risk takers.....
If we do not empower ourselves by employing more women to work with us.....
As long as we trust men to protect us more than we trust each other, we will never see the day that we are waiting for.
For starters, we just have to 'think' like men and stop expecting them to be there to bail us out everytime we are in trouble because we are women.
We must depend on fellow women and give them first the right to our own trust, before we expect anything from them.
Believe me, even men are waiting to see that day!
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