The woman, as I have known

Being a man and writing about women is generally known to being a controversy. Before I start writing I would like to clarify to a few who might think that I’m being a feminist because I have two daughters. No. Even before my daughters were born, I have always wanted to have daughters and my two little girls are my own choice of gift I received from heaven. I was willing to raise my daughters in this world full of threats for women. I’m also proud to be one of those few who loves to have daughters among the many who believe that having a girl child is a lot of risk and a liability.

I was inspired to write about women, from what I have known, only after looking at some of the negative as well as defending comments being made on the internet. It is not that I have never had any bad encounters with women, but that can not generalize who women are.

At least in India, I have seen and heard of many struggles women go through on a daily basis. They can not easily hang out with male friends, wear a dress of their choice, travel alone at nights, or work long hours in an office with a male colleague, to name a few. While there can be many reasons and explanations on why they shouldn’t do all these or at least why these are difficult, it all ends up into just one thing, sexual objectification. Advertising and media plays a vital role in objectifying women, let alone pornography.

Consistent sexual objectification of women has led even women to believe that the most part of themselves are for the sole purpose of sexual desire. This in turn gives women a negative self-image as they tend to believe that their intelligence and competency are not and never will be acknowledged by the society. Men exposed to sexual objectification of women are more likely to devalue women, forgetting that they were also born out of a woman.

Beauty of a woman has to be seen from in her eyes. Women should be embraced out of love, for her heart. The right way to look at a woman is to see her inner beauty and not the outwardly looks. It takes a minute to glance through her body, but takes ages to glance through her inner beauty. Whether you are a man or a woman, you should change the way you look at a woman.

Although it is true that women are generally feeble, they are never weak as generally suggested by the society. Women are mentally stronger than men. They are more attached to their families and spend a lot of time in working through relationships. Multi-tasking is something that should be learnt from women. Even tough they appear to be doing nothing, they are doing a lot and some times even more than their comfort level.

As men, we should accept them their feebleness but also appreciate their strength. As a woman, you must know your worth.

It is by the design of the nature, women has to go through a lot of changes in her life time both physically and mentally. During all these changes, it is the collective responsibility of men and the women to give them opportunities. A woman returning to work after having a baby is sure to experience a lot of challenges at work. Most of her colleagues have already moved to a state which appears to be almost impossible to achieve. They are also often not given the chance to prove themselves since they are compared directly with another of similar experience who has not taken a break.

If you are a woman, be encouraged that given an opportunity, you can prove that you are no lesser than a man. If you are a man, compare apples with apples and give women a chance to learn and get back on track. Encourage them to prove themselves.

I could go on writing many pages but would like to keep this short and simple. The idea of writing this is to only promote a harmonious relationship between men and women. I wish to finish this article with a few words for both men and women.

For women:

• The next time you feel like being objectified, just remember you have a heart filled with love that shines through your eyes.
• The next time you feel like being feeble and weak, just know that you are stronger than you think you are.
• The next time you feel like being left behind in the race, remember, you are just lacking opportunities which you will find very soon.

For men:

• The next time you look at a woman, take time to explore her inner beauty.
• The next time you think they are weak, take a moment to understand their strengths.
• The next time you meet a woman, think of ways to show them opportunities and encourage them.

My dear woman, may you glow in all beauty, shining through your eyes, making your feeble self stronger, to take the chances for your glorious foot towards victory!

– Abilash Praveen

Please leave a message below with your comments and feedback. I’d love to know what you think. I would also appreciate if you have anything to add to this post.