“Hey, you are back from the office, please get me a cup of tea, I am very tired”, her husband asked her when she was back home. “Mom, I am hungry get me something to eat too”, her child asked.

Who is SHE?

A wife! A mother! A daughter! A sister! A responsibility! A duty! A burden! or “A SUPERWOMAN”.

Yeah! My eyes see her as a superwoman. In a society like ours, like our loving pride India.

In India, being She is really challenging and if She is working, she has invited furthermore challenges to herself. The first challenge is asking everyone’s will for her to work. With the evolving era, this challenge is not a big one, as people are now a days flexible for women’s or girls’ wish of work. But this permission comes with lots of restrictions that are major because of the sense of insecurity among girls and even if she is brave these insecurity masters the minds of the family. Sometimes these restrictions affect her psychologically, her parents and family are not her enemies, but the photoplay creates the difference. She is always in grudges for ‘HE is allowed to do whatever and whenever HE wants and why SHE is not. 

Okay, if she is permitted to work, the other challenge is to manage the work and household chores. Ah! She is a woman she must work in the kitchen; she must cook. What’s the big deal in this, if she goes to the office for 8-9 hours, the rest of the time she is free to manage other work.

This is what society thinks and wants.

The challenges for her don’t end here in a family only, the main challenge is outside the home, where she is harassed by seniors, colleagues, and trespassers. She faces mental harassment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, job insecurity, gender pay gap, sexual abuse, insufficient maternity leaves, lack of safety and the list never ends. Somehow she faces these things bravely with an ear-to-ear smile as the smile is the best jewelry and she is also pressurized to carry it, to look beautiful. Because her tears make her fall into the stigma of girls are weak.

Society also gives a good contribution to amplifying her challenges. Eve’s teasing, commenting on her dress, looks, color complexion, body shape, and body posture, is the most common problem. What she hears is, “You are a girl, you should be careful, these boorish people will continue doing so, or surely you must have provoked them or there must be some fault by your end too, be careful”.  For society, the length of cloth, the time of reaching home, closeness, or frankness with friends (mainly boys), make-up, etc., decides her character. Everybody is ready with a character certificate ‘of hers’ in their hand.

She is working and she has to face all these daily. After dealing with these external traumas, her mind and body also don’t flinch from creating issues such as emotions, menstruation, mood swings, carrying a baby in her womb, and still working.

Standing all these diatribes, what does she wants from us, a bit of care, a pinch of love, acceptance, and importance of her existence? Even if she is not going to an office, she is working 24*7 with no leaves, and She also faces these challenges.

“The perfect woman you see is a working woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who uses her hands and her head and her heart for the good of others.”

-Thomas Hardy

But only 19% of women in India are in the labour force. The need for an hour is to support and motivate her to work, to fight this stigma, to feel safe secure, and independent. Also, if around half of the population is tortured or not given space to work and grow properly, the overall progress of our mother nation, mother India is questionable. Lets come together and Break the Ceiling of pressure, hatred or ignorance over Her head and encourage her to shine like brightest Star, giving light to the whole world.

“To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves.”

-Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of Independent India.

About the Author

My name is Vanshika Soni. I am from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. I have done graduation in Mathematics and have a keen interest in social issues all around. The battle for equal respect for both genders is a priority these days and I will be glad if I could contribute towards bringing this change as this is a huge process that needs each one of us. This is also an issue of Humanism and humanity is my first identity.