Press Yourself To Process, Press Yourself To Progress
I feel so proud that we’ve come so far and achieved so much. From the pardah to the moon but still such a long way to go. I do have to say though, the long way is not just our own accountability but the accountability of our male counterparts.
We may struggle to change, fight for our rights, get 50% reservation in panchayats, try to be policy makers and decision makers in top positions but yet have to hear the mockery of not only men but also women. Loosely thrown statements like “She’s a puppet to her husband”, or “she’s sleeping her way up” etc, it really isn’t easy to move ahead. Yet tirelessly we struggle to carve our niche.
Talking about all the challenges would be extremely difficult so lets look at one challenge, the challenge of being a woman in the workforce. These are real-life examples of some of the statements made by women in Mumbai.
The workforce is ripe with mild to severe sexual harassment despite HR policies. Today is the day to break the silence around all the horror that we have to put up with in our workplaces. #metoo was the greatest campaigning of the year that started in America. Maybe in India we yet have to evolve to tell men they are being bullies.
80% of women claim that in a meeting they are asked for their personal mobile numbers that lead to texting. 50% claim that sexting starts in the 1st week. If this is prolonged, then the percentage falls to 10% which means that you are almost in the safe zone.
Break the silence by stating your discomfort with the communication. Generally, it is our fear of rejection that prevents us from putting a stop to it immediately.
Women who reach out for help often claim that they are made to feel obligated and are propositioned for sexual favours. This is very humiliating and demeaning. It is where one begins to feel that one has to fight for their position and fight to be heard, and fight against being objectified. Start to break the silence and then the change will start.
However, my point here is that in the tirade of fighting for our position we are fighting so hard that we are forgetting what our true essence is and we don’t need to feel undervalued at any point.
Women who are successful entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and counsellors who should be glowing with their achievement complain that they feel they are not doing enough. Women carry their guilt into the workplace. The guilt of not being a full time mother, the guilt of not taking good care of the house, the guilt of not pandering incessantly to the husband and the in-laws.
This guilt does a disservice to us by creating negative patterns of behaviour that force us to be stressful which opens a pandoras box of illnesses which limits us rather than liberate us.
True women’s liberation does not mean merely seeking equality within a masculine world, but liberating the divine feminine aspects of a woman’s personality and using them for the benefit of humankind. We are a vibrant energy and this energy is all-encompassing.
Press yourself to process. Press yourself to progress.
