"BEHANCHOD" !!. How conveniently we demean girls. How conveniently we spread this word that essentially means that your sister is your weakness. How conveniently we accept that it is okay to attribute weakness to women. How conveniently we listen to gender stereotyping going on around us, silently giving acceptance to it.
Strength is amorphous and we all living beings are equally abled. A honey bee is strong when it has to defend its hive. It uses its sting to repel those who threaten her habitat. It doesn't go around stinging cows just because cows cannot fly. It also doesn't mock those who cannot match its stinging prowess. It basically uses her power to mind her own business. And yet she is a small seemingly weak and insecure creature.
Ignorance is our problem, for we fail to see the manifestation of strength in woman.
Her Strength lies in holding positions of responsibility in society and managing her house simultaneously.
Her Strength lies in caring for others as well as caring for herself.
Her Stregth lies in taking care of her business at her workplace with a baby to look after.
Her Strength lies in trying to do what she likes, fighting numerous family interventions
Her Strength lies in making her man a better man.
Her Strength lies in her smile, notwithstanding the countless issues going on in her head.
Her Strength lies in her response to moments when she feels weak.
And if I sum up all these and convert it to physical strength, I believe beyond any reasonable doubt that it would embarrass any man or gang of men who
take a woman's dignity for granted. Women have a make believe self, which they have to put up to thrive. It may be threatening for some men to see women
walking neck and neck with them, and even outshining them in many walks. The thing that we men need to realise is that they are not some other species, they are human beings and we need to respect them and not hate them or mock them. However intimidating be her make believe self, however strong she portrays herself to the world but on the inside every woman is a woman..tender, insecure, and sensitive..and it is this encapsulated softness and the ability to subtly preserve it, that comprises her true beauty and strength.
With all the words of wisdom flowing on the internet about that innocent girl and about women in general, I sincerely hope against hope that these words find the ears of rational minds and stimulate them to change whatever they can about gender stereotyping, rape, harrassment, or any such issue that degrades our fairer sex and makes us a weak society.
May the deceased rest in peace.
- Harsh
