Were you ever introduced to chess? It’s an interesting game that had been enjoyed by many people throughout the centuries. Which one of the figures in the chess is your favorite? Mine is the Queen; she is free to move in any direction at any length throughout the court, she is the one placed beside the King as his strongest support. Reminds you of anyone you know? Certainly, it does. There are many of them around us, we see them every day! I see a Queen in my mother, one in my friend who never let anything come her way to her will, and being a girl, I am also a Queen of my own Queendom. We come in different forms and colors, from different walks of life and aim for different destinations. Let me introduce you to US, we are WOMEN.
WOMEN. Women are beautiful species. Each of them is a special package; an interesting mystery box, a combination of a lot of gifts and she will leave you wondering what else there might be in this one every time she surprises you with a new gift. Women? They come with everything; beauty, love, affection, power, strength, determination, knowledge, understanding, and most importantly, adaptability. They can adapt themselves to any form in any situation. A woman is eligible to play different roles at a time. She can shake hands with Nature and bring a new life to the Earth, that same loving caring mother could be a strong entity doing everything to protect her child. She can also be the girl working hard to fulfill her dreams and ambitions. At the same time, she could be the one helping others to succeed, empowering the oppressed. She can be a passionate lover, a great wife. She can manage her household in the most efficient way. She can be the playful little girl and also be the mature woman making the most crucial decisions. She can do everything if she has to do even if she has never done that before. She can be the one too sensitive to think about leaving her family, but she can also be the too strong one to do that when she knows it’s necessary, let that be for work, for education, for career purposes, or to move to her husband’s house after her marriage. She can do everything she wants to do and everyone she wants to be. She just needs to will for it. So next time if a girl wants you to buy her an ice cream or asks for something, get it for her, she has earned it. Remember, it’s not because she can’t afford that for herself. She surely can! But she is asking you because she wants something she loves from someone she loves.
If I asked you to list some of your most favorite quotes about girls or women in general, that you found very interesting, very realistic and inspiring, which ones would you mention? Right when I ask you this question, three of my most favorite quotes popped up in my mind. I am listing them below just to share them with you.
The first one is about the efficiency and ability of women. Someone once said, “Give a woman a house, she will give you a home.”
This quote basically tells us how a woman can convert a materialistic thing into a spiritual one. She knows how to nurture things with love and bind them together with affection.
The second one is about the importance of literacy for females and it goes like this: “Give me an educated mother, I will give you an educated nation.”
This one strongly suggests that if you need an educated generation, you need to educate the mothers who bring them to the world, take care of them and brings them up, teaching them the different aspects of life.
Last but not the least, this is a Bengali quote. Since I am a Bengali, I grew up listening to this one, very frequently in my community. The original quote is as follows: “যে রাধেঁ, সে চুল ও বাধেঁ |”
The literal translation of this quote is, “The one who cooks, also knows how to tie her hair.” However, the detailed meaning of the quote is actually referenced to the double roles women can play, suggesting that the woman who works also knows how to maintain herself as the symbol of beauty. Just because she is working doesn’t mean she is not eligible for any other roles that are usually associated with females.
Now that we know the importance and the prominence of women in our lives, I can’t help but ask these questions: What is your view on ‘Women’? How or where do you see them? Do you see them as the energetic beings with strong will and determination? As the ones who are a must? Well yes, of course, we are an obvious part of the human race. But, are we the only part? The answer is a NO. There is another part, another group of people, we call them ‘Men.’ They are as important as we are, as obvious as we are. In fact, men and women? We complete each other. What happens if I don’t have an important male figure in my life or a male doesn’t have an important female figure in his life? Won’t either of us be able to achieve what we achieved now that we have the prominent other? We would, it’s true but it’s also true that it couldn’t be as easier as it has been for us. We could do without each other but we could also be there together and make things easy for each other. Remember, nothing is complicated until we introduce the complications. We need to respect each other equally.
Did that hurt your idea of ‘Feminism?’ Let me ask you, what is ‘Feminism?’ Is it about empowering females? Yes, it is. Is it about presenting the idea that females are not behind at anything? Yes, it is. But is it only about females? Is it only about how mighty we are above the males? NO. You read it right. It’s a NO. You cannot complete the definition of ‘Feminism’ without mentioning the males. ‘Feminism’ is ensuring that females are considered equal to men. Neither does it say about being above the men nor does it say about being below the men. The misinterpretation of the term ‘Feminism’ is why many people, including females, often shut down anyone talking about feminism to them. Seriously! Don’t believe me? Let’s try. ‘Females are the future, they are bringing the new hopes in this and that field, females can do this better than the men,’ like come on! You and I are two different people, one of us is better at something than the other but that couldn’t be a generic comparison for every aspect. When you only talk about females like this thinking you are talking ‘Feminism,’ I would tell you to listen carefully to yourself first. Didn’t that sound more like ‘Sexism?’ Remember, we complete each other. We don’t have to make things hard or complicated, we can make them easier instead.
Whether male or female, make your presence prominent, make your efforts counted. The thing is, we can find people who were leading figures of their time, but then we can also clearly notice how easily they are forgotten. Take, for example, Esther Eng. She was a Chinese-American who worked as a co-director, director, distributor, producer, and screenwriter. She was the first female director to direct Chinese language films in the United States. Besides all of that, she was an entrepreneur and a successful one. She is still remembered as a kind person among friends. But does any of us remember her or even know her? How often is this inspiring lady mentioned? Many important archives don’t even acknowledge her works and her efforts. How about Valentina Tereshkova? She was the first woman to travel to space. Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing? Anyone remembers Anna May Wong who was the first Asian-American actress to gain international recognition? There are countless such personalities who led the way for others but are yet, well forgotten. So, what was the point of mentioning them? TWO things. First, doesn’t matter you are at the peak of what, people will always treat you how they want to treat you. So, do everything because you want to do it, not because people want you to do it. Second, never let anyone look down on you because you are a woman. Remind them we can do everything. We were not meant to stoop below or rise above men, we were meant to stand together with our shoulders equaled. If you are a woman reading this, enjoy your womanhood, you are a beautiful creature. If you are a man reading this, smile because you have them around because you can help them and protect them, respect them and most importantly, love them and cherish them.