Proud to be A Woman

Growing up in a single child household, I was always the peak of attention of both my parents, both in a positive and negative way. My parents loved me but were overly worried about my safety. My parents loved me but my extended family kept nudging them about how I should be raised like a man to be better in the society. The thought of being raised like a man has always made me cringe. As sexist as it sounded, this was a day-to-day conversation in every household. According to my father, specifically, he wanted me to be as responsible as a man and very often found himself in an avert position of dreading himself that I, one day, would be married off. I never really understood why this was such a necessity. Why couldn’t I be a woman and be brought up like one? That’s when I realized that to them, being brought up as a woman meant to cook, manage the household and take care of the children. So, I got their point, they wanted me to be independent - emotionally, financially and in every other way possible. After so many years of gender equality movement, we are back at the image of independence being equaled to men.

But as I grow up, I realize that I am proud of being a woman. I don’t think of myself as better or worse than men but I just want to be unapologetic as a woman. I can be strong and efficient. I can take care of the household (even though maintaining household should not be gender biased) and my work. I can take care of children and serve my passion at the same time. I don’t think, as a woman, should stop me from being who I am or who I want to be. Every woman should look at the positive, rather than the negative. We have to deal with too much stuff, from home or the world outside but that’s what makes us unique. We have the capability to turn the tables and be who we are. We have the strength to fight for what we want. We should never be sad for getting lesser trips than men or feeling more chained than them - rather we should focus on how to find happiness with what we have and who we are. We should help others to accept us and believe in us and it all starts from right now, today. Take

a moment, breath and enjoy being a woman - without any fear, without feeling like a burden and definitely, without feeling guilty of being a woman.

~Raisa Rahman

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