Women here, there and everywhere...

Neither have I lived in a lot of places nor have I already started going grey, but it is not beyond the comprehension of any woman (to be addressed as a girl has already started sounding annoying to me!) of any age to comprehend that women here, there, elsewhere and everywhere( yes, even if there were women on Venus) are no different. From the moment I landed here in the United States, and every new city I visit, the first thing I do is compare the women( its altogether a different thing that I end up checking their footwear and if they got a pedicure). Definitely women here in the US of A and the so called developed countries are more independent, self-respecting and self-loving and a lot more when compared to those back home. But, underneath the mask of independence and achievement are the same old layers of vulnerability, insecurity and uncertainty.

Don’t mistake me to be another 379,856th feminist. It is just that I haven’t come across any house-husband or dads who are home makers. I don’t deny that dads are loving and caring and the ‘my daddy strongest’ caption is still my favorite, but I am just surprised by the number of moms who have to give up careers to make their family ‘a happy family’ and if you are lucky enough, u still have the key but are the back-seat driver. I remember an incident from five to six years ago. Surf excel used to telecast an ad showing several men and women each carrying 2 buckets of water that they could save by using surf excel. I was watching this ad on TV at my aunt’s parents place sitting next to her dad when he goes “ beep! Dhimak karab ayinda veelaki. Em em chupistaro TV lo. **again beep** mogolu evaraina battalu uthukuthara?? Gaajulu eskuni kurchomanu intla” (“what the hell! What crap do they show on TV these days? Do men ever wash clothes at home? Ask them to wear bangles and sit at home.”) I was naïve, young and Miss. goody-shoes back then to argue with him(read elders) over it. I couldn’t help laughing and silently slipped out of the room and narrated this story to my aunt and both of us ended up laughing continuously. I am not generalizing all the men on the planet here, but it’s a sad fact that there are more men who think on those lines.

And after the few lucky women make it to work; we all know what they have to take. If all the above rantings are those present in the civilized world, then there is the other unfathomable barbaric side. I am not writing against men, it is just that I am shocked by the number of atrocities and discrimination women faced and still face. There is a not a single day that the newspapers don’t report a crime against women. Even 5 and 6 year old kids are not spared from the evil eye of debauchee. They say God could not be present everywhere and that is why he created ‘mother’ to fill the gap. If only disrespect towards women is considered disrespect towards HIM….