The world and it’s irony, it surprises me!! So, Deepika Padukone was part of this video, which spoke about choices, and they said, how does it have anything to do with empowerment. Okay, let me define “they” here – my parents, my neighbors, my relatives, the aunty who lives across the street, the security guard of my society, the maid who comes to my house, the driver of the guy who lives next door, so on and so forth. But, what no one noticed is, the video is a state which every woman dreams of, to have the choice or freedom to decide what she wants in life.
I am a woman, and trust me; there have been millions of situations where I wish I was a man, and every time I think so, I am enraged at “them”, for making me feel so. I am 24, an MBA from a reputed college in India, earning 50k per month. But even today, my dad questions me for working late in office, he questions me for talking on the phone at night, he questions me if I have dinner with someone simply because I was hungry, he questions me if someone drops me home even if it means waiting another 45 minutes for the office cab, and all this because I am a woman, a girl - and no, I am not assuming this, when I asked him if his dad ever did all this when he worked for late hours in office, this was his response, I am not a woman, it’s okay for me to do all of that, but not for you, because you are of marriageable age, and no guy would want a girl who does all these things. Yes, this was the reason, that I did not have a choice, because being chosen by a guy for marriage, was always his privilege, and never a girl’s choice. My dad said that he gave me all the freedom till college, that he never questioned what I wore, with whom I went, where I went, but now, u need to get married, and hence u need to be controlled !! And there, it struck me, that what I thought were normal human rights, were actually an extra bonus for me, I can't have them in normal circumstances, I was just lucky, because I am a woman, and we don't have a choice !!
I was in love, and maybe I still am, with a guy who my parents will never accept, and neither will “they”, and so I have to give up on that, because “they” will outcaste me if I do, and so I let it go. I wanted to start my own business, but “they” said, I don’t have the right to dream, what if the guy doesn’t like it, what about your family, oh yes, I forget, the family is always the girl’s responsibility, the guy only gets in the bucks. And the funny part is, if I was a guy, my parents and even “them” would have easily accepted all of this, but just because I am a girl, I don’t have the choice to fall in love, to have dreams of my own.
“They” say, you are a fool, the guy will just use you, and throw you, but what if I have enjoyed the time too, OH MY GOD, how can I even say this, a girl never has a choice to enjoy, and if she does, she is labelled as a slut or a whore. I don’t have the choice to even decide my best friend, because if a guy is my best friend, then “they” will never accept it, because girls can’t have guys as friends, and never best friend!!
So now, for all those people, who asked, how is the video, got anything to do with empowerment, yes, I agree it has got nothing to do with empowerment, because the word “my choice”, was never even available for women, it was always “their” choice, and will always be!!
