I am a normal human being. I am a woman. I feel empowered because many years ago, another woman on my birth, pledged to instill the right attitude in her daughter, right from her birth. Yes, she was my mum, at a mere age of 4 years she ripped me apart from her lap and sent me to my maternal grandparents place so that I can get a good education. For she understood that it is sound education that will enable me to stand on my own feet and become both financially and socially independent. She made me a fearless tigress and for that, I can never be grateful enough to her. Of so many things that went wrong around us, my attitude was one right thing she never let me give up. In 2006 before she left for heavenly abode the last promise she took from me was that no matter how adverse the circumstances become I will never give up my economic independence. So every day I try to live up to that promise and also in my very small ways enable others too to stand on their own feet.
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| My Mom |
Today I really wanted to write about what I have grown up to believe and what I practice and preach very rigorously. You would have often read me or heard me saying ‘Empowered Women Empower Women’, now this is not a slogan for a dharna that we sit on for Women Empowerment, neither is it a publicity gimmick of political leaders, it simply means that charity begins at home. How can we empower all the women of the world..by each one of us ensuring that the women in their own home feel empowered? They have a say in the decision-making process of the family. They can raise their voice for themselves and can follow their dreams.
How do we do it? As a mum, or an aunt or a grandparent or even a dad, we must ensure that we are inculcating the right attitude in our daughters from day1. Allow them to dream, support them to inch closer to their dreams, equip them with tools to soar higher and higher towards their goals, teach them never say die attitude. Give them the killer instinct.
Don’t tell them you are a girl, sit properly, talk properly, be home before it gets dark, learn to cook, etc. Instead, enroll your kids in self-defense sessions like Karate, etc and teach them how to identify and act on bad touch. Sad to say most often it’s we who teach our children gender bias. When your daughter wants to invite only girls to her birthday party or your son only boys, don’t support it rather guide their thoughts in a gender-neutral direction in a strong way. Teach them that apart from the biological difference there is nothing that makes a girl weaker than a boy or vice versa. Let them learn to grow, play and study together.
Don’t tell them you are a girl, sit properly, talk properly, be home before it gets dark, learn to cook, etc. Instead, enroll your kids in self-defense sessions like Karate, etc and teach them how to identify and act on bad touch. Sad to say most often it’s we who teach our children gender bias. When your daughter wants to invite only girls to her birthday party or your son only boys, don’t support it rather guide their thoughts in a gender-neutral direction in a strong way. Teach them that apart from the biological difference there is nothing that makes a girl weaker than a boy or vice versa. Let them learn to grow, play and study together.
Simultaneously if we are a mum to a son, we do exactly the same. It has taken me crazy efforts to make my son believe that all boys and girls are equal. It is good to know that he spoke to the sports teacher when he had asked boys to play football and girls to play kabaddi..requesting him to let everyone make a choice which game they want to play and that was because one girl in his class really wanted to play football. He is the same child who has some months ago told me that his male friends have told him that they will not play with him if he will borrow a notebook from a girl and I had to actually sit with him to make him understand and sink gender equality in his brain.
So I reiterate that in order to empower every single girl of India we have to imbibe in them gender equality values right from their birth and stand behind their dreams like a firm rock exactly like we do behind our sons, as they sail closer to their dreams. I know the change is happening, but let’s join hands and propel the speed and contribute to in our own small ways. Above all give them the attitude to dream high and leave no stone unturned to fulfill their dreams at all costs. No sacrifices pls!
Sharing here my 'A' Posts for #AtoZChallenge and #BlogchatterA2Z of 2016, 2017, 2018 with you all, in case you will like to read them :)
Copyright © 2014-2019 by Roma Gupta Sinha
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If you relate to my writings, you can grab a copy of any of my 3 published books here The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child and Dare to Defy The Destiny
