The Past, Present And Future Of Women

by Rakhi Chadha 

Across the broad continent of a woman’s life falls the shadow of a sword,” – Virginia Wolf

On one side of that sword, she said, there lies convention, tradition and order, where all is correct. But on the other side of that sword, if you’re crazy enough to cross it and choose a life that does not follow convention, “all is confusion.” Her argument was that the crossing of the shadow of that sword may bring a more interesting existence to a woman, but you can bet it will be more perilous.

The life of a woman has changed in its role than any man’s ever has or will. We have come a long way from being housewives, uneducated, submissive to intelligent, working women, who also take care of families and our homes.

Especially a South Asian woman, who is taught to become a wife and mother, but sometimes those other roles she wants to play in society, roles that do not need a man in her life, are pushed under the rug.  We are taught to believe that life is incomplete without a spouse. Yet with the growing divorce rates and cheating scandals, it would make any female fear relationships.  The heart may still yearn for someone who would take care of her and shower her with love, but does this guarantee happiness? What if after going through a brief trial of this, the female decides that maybe, just maybe, she is happy living her life single? Many South Asian women, who have gone through betrayal, torture, hurt, pain, are thinking a million times before jumping on that bandwagon again that left them stranded the first time. What if a woman wants to take the struggles she went through and help others realize how they can prevent the same in their life? Do we have to follow tradition, which says the role of a woman is to eventually become a wife and mother?

Maybe we need to seek our happiness! Maybe it’s time to put our happiness before everyone else’s and maybe it’s time we erase the traditional roles women are sought to follow and create a path that leads away from society’s beliefs. It would be a struggle to prove to the South Asian society that a girl living her life is not as bad as they feel, but it’s a challenge that many women need to take to form a new culture. It is a culture that believes happiness lies within themselves, not within another person.

Taking the path that’s not “traditional” may cause some obstacles, but at the end, choose the road “less traveled by,” break traditions and go for your happiness, whether it be with someone or just with your goals and dreams.

On that note, on behalf of BG, I would like to wish you all a Happy Women’s Day! It’s important we take a step back from society’s norms to carve our own history.

Feature Image Source: www.internationalwomensday.com/resources.asp#.Uxtmm0KwJHs