They are diverse in their shape, skin colour, personality, size, behaviour and much more but what binds them is their alikeness in expressing their willingness and passion for creating a life that is based on their dreams, goals, and wishes. An ocean of endless desires, seeking knowledge, experience, skills and learning new skills. They are moody, friendly, kind and yet they have an attitude, they are a bandwagon of females who share the love of life. They are best known as "strong-minded or independent women." For many, these women are exemplars in their respective fields for the diligence they invest in their chosen paths.
Whether they are doctors, engineers, writers, poets, scientists, architects, archaeologists, nurses, thinkers, artists, IT specialists, educators, economists, politicians, entrepreneurs, social workers or a mother or a housewife, they are all extraordinary in their own place. On the other hand, there are those people who would do nothing but scrutinise the hard work and initiative these women take in changing the lives of many other women; whether it is their home space, working environment or the different avenues in the society. People who are afraid of changing the ones who first shower endless criticism to changemakers but once the change takes place it is the very same people who flood endless words of praise which in a way is such hypocrisy. However, once the efforts and ideas become apparent to the masses, the transparency of their objective makes sense to the public who find it reasonable to accept. Having said all that, it is never easy to achieve the ladder of success, depending on how every individual defines success since success is defined in endless ways. Some may say it is the peace of mind that is the ultimate way of achieving everything else. Others may point it is health, in today's disturbing environment where prioritising one's health is paramount especially with the endless flow of information on the coronavirus, ignoring one's health can only be coined as "reckless".
Even God tells us to take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves. Whatever faith, beliefs or religion you believe in, there are some basic ideas we all abide by, health being top of the list. Coming back to my subject, women as a bandwagon represent female power. When merging for a collective cause, they are far more successful than men. No force can stop but that of the Almighty God. However, not all women share this sisterly bond with others because to them it is nothing but cutthroat competition. By all means, having a healthy competition is acceptable but you do not deliberately create a source of distress to your competitor only to excel in the same field. Women can either be each other's best friends, confidantes, sisters, colleagues or they can be a complete opposite of enmity and show lack of support. Support in this context refers to emotional, moral and not necessarily financial.
Dispensing moral, religious and emotional support is such a big contribution, we need an increasing number of women who are a ray of hope for the voiceless women. There are endless cases of domestic violence, abuse, honour killings, murders and various forms of heinous crimes which are committed women, this is when we need to educate the masses, create awareness to make them understand women too have an identity. Once they are married they are not "sold". As eccentric it may sound, I have come across many cases of women in our so-called "modern world" where women endure a miserable and abusive marriage in the name of "honour"; their parents convince them they are better off enduring the abuse by glorifying it as part of the "dutiful wife" role. By unleashing yourself or failing to comply you would end up getting in deep waters, i.e. trouble with your spouse. Talk about women's rights I have come across various known achievers but to what extent are their achievements helping the common woman? I was talking to Rana Husseini, a famous Jordanian journalist and book author of "In the name of honour" a book that narrates the plight of women suffering honour killings. Rana bagged an award at the Arab Women of the Year Awards in London last year (November 2019). When I met her I asked her Rana to what extent are these awards useful in everyday life? Don't you think we need more than just an award? She agreed stating it was necessary to implement serious measures to ensure the welfare and security of women who may fear their life is in danger. These collective measures need to be applied by the global community. Now, I won't pinpoint one community or culture to state abuse is rampant since abuse is universal. I have always advocated the need for strong-minded women and women who are independent. However, whenever I advocate the need to educate and empower women by educating them; ensuring they have a career or at least gain a vocational qualification depending on their environment which makes them capable of securing a job.
I have never entertained the idea that a female's purpose in this world is to finish high school and get married to breed children. I have the utmost respect for mothers; they are the ones who brought us into this world. In fact, whatever they have endured I could never envisage myself endure a quarter of that. Hats off to mothers, I salute you. But as a female, we are usually groomed from a very young age to bear in mind that our sole purpose in this world is to exist by completing high school (maximum) and get married to have children. Not to forget, learn all the housework to ensure we qualify as a potential house-wife material. I am not generalising since it will backfire and many people out there will criticise that how can you back this. I am not representing any research academy, I am strictly stating my opinion from my firsthand observations.
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