A newly married young girl, who smoothly adjusted in her new
role as a wife, was once told by her in-laws that she had probably cast a spell
on their son as he always supported her, sometimes much against their wishes. What
they probably could not understand was that it was no magic that had won her
husband over but the love of the woman.
In fact, it is not unusual to see women being labeled or
called names. A recent controversy where an actress was called a psychopath and
a witch in the same breath should not really shock us. In our society a strong
woman who wins personal or professional battles without support is usually not
applauded; instead, people busy themselves in finding a reason for her success
as if there was a prize to it.
At work, when a woman earns an impressive increment or that
well deserved promotion, people in hushed tones discuss why she had it so easy
which usually ends up with an affair or closeness to the boss. Obviously,
nobody cares to recall the long hours spent and the project deadlines that she
has met almost every time.
In our society, the easiest way to put down a woman is to
hit where it hurts the most. Point at her morality or question her sanity and
you have instantly got a strong, independent woman questioning herself.
It is our society’s inability to accept and deal with women
who know what they want and work to get it without playing the damsel in distress
that brings out this insecurity. The fact that a woman can do it all and get
what a man can get exposes a helplessness that can only be cured if it throws
back the woman back to gallows of darkness. Where she must cry and beg for help.
In this age old power struggle, it is scary to let any woman rise. It is because,
a successful woman would inspire her clan and that can turn the tables
overnight in our patriarchal society.
So a woman who expresses her sexuality and chooses her own
life partner becomes a slut. A woman who has a sharp mind is usually the black
magician who burns the midnight oil while pricking voodoo dolls. And God bless
the woman with a sharp tongue. She is the worst of them all. For it is this
woman who questions and answers back. No wonder, in this side of the world,
everybody wants a well educated bride so that she can be shown off as a trophy
but nobody wants her to speak!
Thankfully, the new breed of
women have developed a strong immunity towards all this name calling and
are striving harder than before to attain their individual potentials, while
the world is left gaping too awestruck to call her anything but a STAR, and a
magical one at that!
