Women Empowerment

Women and empowerment do not exactly go hand in hand, at least not in India. A woman who dares to dream and is competent enough to achieve her goal is often looked upon with a mixture of admiration and skepticism. She is revered as the modern woman, the woman of today. She carries an aura of self assurance and confidence that is almost addictive, and most often, is admired unequivocally by friends and family. She is the fancy of every young girl and the source of inspiration to all women around! If she also manages to maintain the right balance between her household chores and her profession, she becomes the ultimate Diva!

While the society never fails to admire such women, it seldom recognizes the other section, the section of women who chose to stay in, so that their families can enjoy a hassle-free life. Without being judgmental on this count, let us try to envision the thought process that goes behind a woman’s choice to give up personal aspirations, with the sole intent to fulfill her other duties fastidiously.

Some might argue here that such a thought process might have more to do with idiosyncrasy than a logical requirement. But, I must say, in that case, we should learn to respect this idiosyncrasy which calls for such huge sacrifice and courage.

Experience tells us that it is always easier to tread on the treaded path; you take a diversion and countless questions will be hurled at you. Likewise, for the modern woman! A full fledged career outside the confines of her home is the accepted reality. The modern woman decides to sit back at home and take care of her family, and eyebrows are sure to be raised! While the majority might simply discard her as someone with questionable abilities, some might even link her decision to being bowed down by family pressure. Very few, if at all, would stand apart and applaud her for her own decision to live solely for her family and that is where we go tremendously wrong.

Let us accept the fact that it requires tremendous guts, self assurance and selflessness to say no to a career where accomplishments are tangible and instead, take up a 24/7 job with no set benchmarks to measure and appraise performance.

I am sure both categories of women deserve kudos for their own accomplishments; the modern woman who supports a career as well as home and equally, if not more, the modern woman who decides to stay out of the rat race and make her home her only work arena.

By Shyamalima