Tired of being told what to do, what to wear, what size to be, what roles to play? Tired of constantly knowing what the future holds for you?
Well then, #Refuse.
#Refuse to obey all the rules and regulations imposed on women. Refuse to abide by all the taboos and superstitions related to the apparent impurity of women. Refuse to play all the roles you are made to play as a wife who tans herself in the kitchen. You are tasked to refuse these commands, raise your voice and reeducate the masses of people who think wrong, do wrong, and deny they are wrong. You are tasked to transform their closed minds and broaden their views. You are tasked to change the way our society has been brought up. You are tasked to raise us again, raise us better. Change begins with you.
For many decades, in typical middle-class Indian families, the women are delegated the duty of taking care of the household chores. No offence intended, but no God or Superhero came out of their respective shelters and declared that women should rot in the house taking care of their babies, cooking, washing and changing diapers, and men should be out there, working their heads off to earn a decent living for the entire family.
Now if only you men did your part and took away a little bit of their load, they could probably go out, get a job, and relieve you of some of your financial stress.
A few months ago, P&G came out with an ad campaign, featured in Superwoman.
It is the reaction to a heart- rending letter written by a father who on realizing is upset over how unfairly he has treated his wife and how proud he is of his daughter that even with the load and pressure of both work and family, she is still effortlessly pulling it through every day. How the story of a father’s realization has touched the hearts of so many young and old men in our country.
This was followed by a video featuring Indian men pledging to make a change:
Because. You see…
Equality starts at home. If you do not treat your wife as your equal, you cannot expect your daughter’s husband to treat her any better. So fathers and husbands, the change starts from you. If you treat your women as your counterparts, not only does your life become easier but you also build a better world for your daughter to live in. Gender stereotypes have been passed on through generations, and it will not stop, until each and every one of us take a firm stand. Women need to start believing in their worth and men need to realize that this age-old assumption which they have has no relevance to modern-day life. With the cost of living rising, almost every adult, able and literate person must have a job to keep up with the rest of the society’s standard of living.
So women,
Refuse to cook and clean up after somebody else’s crap. Refuse all those people who are constantly telling you that you cannot, pulling you down, abasing you. Refuse to let them mold you into the perfect little dolls that their imaginations have made them conceive. Refuse to play the gender roles that is based on some narcissist man’s whim. Just believe in yourself and chase your dreams.
Trust me, at the end, what you become will make all the difference.
