Strong women identify other strong women.
No, I did not say women identify other women. There was an adjective added—“strong.”
By “strong,” I do not mean physically strong. By “strong,” I do not mean mentally strong either.
By “strong,” I mean someone who has been broken millions and billions of times by their own people, by their own society, by their own beloved, by their own culture, and by their own motherland—yet they rise. They rise over and over again.
I have met many strong women in my life, and I cherish them, admire them, and am inspired by them. These women are taking care of their health, taking care of their families’ health, giving birth, going to the office, earning their own money, and running businesses that contribute to the economy. Yet one thing is common—the TAUNT.
By “taunt,” I don’t mean only someone telling you something directly. I mean—
A sarcastic comment during dinner with family: “If all women go to work, who will take care of the husband?”
Why? Is the husband a little child who can’t take care of himself?
A stereotypical question at lunch from a colleague: “What are the new cake shops in this area? You are a girl; you must love cake.”
NO! I do not have a sweet tooth. I don’t eat cake. I am not Marie Antoinette.
Oh, and another, coming from someone who only talks but never works: “If I were as successful as you are, I would do what you are doing now.”
NO! You couldn’t handle the pressure. You couldn’t handle those sleepless nights. You couldn’t handle the universe breaking you into pieces and still choose to complete the work.
Then comes the MANIPULATION.
I am sure you have all faced such taunts. What do these people expect when they taunt you? They expect you to lose confidence or doubt yourself. But if, by mistake, you respond with the truth—or with a reply that is not soothing to their ears—do you know what they will say?
“Oh! I did not mean you. I just said it.”
“Who told you that comment was about you?”
Those who are a bit clever will say, “I was talking about someone else.”
But, hey, you were still taunting someone else.
The dirt is on you!
These repeated taunts from people who are close to us does not realize that it shatters us. People start to doubt themselves despite having great talent. People start to isolate themselves from society.
The TAUNTERS must know that there are strong women who are continuously fighting these issues—silently, verbally, through their actions, and by choosing to ignore the taunts. But they are fighting.
Strong women are awake.
This is no longer about empowering women. This is about making other people understand that we are already empowered.
NOW YOU LEARN TO LIVE WITH THIS!
