ONCE, IN a candid conversation with my two kin – one of them was elder, while the other was of same age – we started discussing about the love affairs and stuff, which was not a big thing in such a modern time. My elder brother told me, “I will break your legs if I find you moving around with any guy!”
I was totally flabbergasted by such a chauvinistic statement counter questioned him, “What if you find him (my other brother) roaming around with any girl?” There on followed moments of lull, no body spoke for a while…how could they? They had no possible answer for my question. The talk ended with a giddy smiles and the topic changed.
As the day followed I discussed about the whole thing with my mother at the end of which she said, “Beta, tu ladki hai na!”
And that was when I realised that I am still considered inferior to my brothers. He has more freedom than me. It kind of condemned me with a tag of helplessness. In the modern era, no matter how things have changed, no matter how much people would say that sons and daughters are equal, in the back of their minds they know that sharp differences exist.
Recently I read John Milton’s Paradise Lost. God created the world in seven days. But there was nobody to appreciate his creation, so he created man in his own image and christened him Adam, he was supreme amongst all the creatures in the world. But, he was all alone. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh thereof and he made a woman from the rib and brought her unto the men. She was christened Eve.
Adam says, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man”. If a woman is supposed to be formed out of man, does that give him the right to own her? Does she become subservient to him? After all she is born as an individual, with her free will. Eve was born to be a companion of Adam not his servant or slave. Even God did not create any bias between them.
I observed that women are always considered inferior to men. I do not know the reason. From the conversation with my brother, I noticed that I do not possess the same amount of freedom (social or sexual) that my brother has. If he could go out and do whatever he wants, why should I be discriminated against? Why there is so much pressure on a girl whereas guys could go around freely? A girl is termed as characterless for seeing boys but guys remain unblemished even if he were to flirt around with girls. Why? Just because he is a guy!
I was totally flabbergasted by such a chauvinistic statement counter questioned him, “What if you find him (my other brother) roaming around with any girl?” There on followed moments of lull, no body spoke for a while…how could they? They had no possible answer for my question. The talk ended with a giddy smiles and the topic changed.
As the day followed I discussed about the whole thing with my mother at the end of which she said, “Beta, tu ladki hai na!”
And that was when I realised that I am still considered inferior to my brothers. He has more freedom than me. It kind of condemned me with a tag of helplessness. In the modern era, no matter how things have changed, no matter how much people would say that sons and daughters are equal, in the back of their minds they know that sharp differences exist.
Recently I read John Milton’s Paradise Lost. God created the world in seven days. But there was nobody to appreciate his creation, so he created man in his own image and christened him Adam, he was supreme amongst all the creatures in the world. But, he was all alone. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh thereof and he made a woman from the rib and brought her unto the men. She was christened Eve.
Adam says, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man”. If a woman is supposed to be formed out of man, does that give him the right to own her? Does she become subservient to him? After all she is born as an individual, with her free will. Eve was born to be a companion of Adam not his servant or slave. Even God did not create any bias between them.
I observed that women are always considered inferior to men. I do not know the reason. From the conversation with my brother, I noticed that I do not possess the same amount of freedom (social or sexual) that my brother has. If he could go out and do whatever he wants, why should I be discriminated against? Why there is so much pressure on a girl whereas guys could go around freely? A girl is termed as characterless for seeing boys but guys remain unblemished even if he were to flirt around with girls. Why? Just because he is a guy!
