Women at the Center
There has been in the past decades a lot of noise about women. Women’s Liberation, Women’s Equality with Men, Women Discrimination in the Workplace, Violence Against Women etc. All these movements and issues redound to the question: Where is the woman’s place?
The answer I propose is – at the center. Yes, for the longest time, women have been held in very good regard. Human history is strewn with accounts of women whose characters and life stories refuse to fade away with their demise.
However, these women historical figures hardly represent women in general. Not all women are exceptionally beautiful or intelligent or powerful or distinguished. The great majority of the women we come across every day is rather very ordinary, nothing special about them – except that they’re women.
But every woman, I believe, is special. She is either our mother or our wife. We all have a special spot in our hearts for our mothers and, among men, the other woman we hold as dearly we take as our wife to mother our children.
It is highly admirable of women to choose to be wives and mothers, often putting their own wellbeing secondary to that of the ones they love and serve, and love to serve. They are only too happy to see their spouses and children happy and well. That is their only reward.
Humanity owes its very survival to women – women are an essential part of the equation that produces children. Only that the women’s part is more crucial. They have the sole responsibility of carrying the infants at a most delicate stage, those nine months in the womb.
It’s sad, therefore, how harshly humanity tends to treat women today. Women are generally considered as less capable or the “weaker sex.” Motherhood is now viewed as a burden, and mothers are looked down upon rather than appreciated – the many children in a poor family are the mother’s fault.
Such a warped view has somehow seeped through to the minds of the “man of the house,” the husbands. And now there is a domestic problem called “violence against women.” As observed by the then United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on International Women’s Day, 1999: “Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And, it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth…” Per UN Women data, 15 to 70 percent of women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Interestingly, in terms of influence on a person, women are most significant. History has shown that even powerful men were greatly influenced by their mothers during childhood, and grew up inheriting much of the values imparted on them matrilineally. The matrilineal influence on the development of children could be applied to infinitely benefit humanity.
Mao Tse Tung once quipped: “Women hold up half the sky!” Statistically, women indeed constitute half of humanity. And considering the many roles they play in our lives, they deserve our appreciation, our gratitude, our love.
Our mothers are our first teachers, and often, our refuge in our times of trouble. Our wives are our inspiration and closest ally. And yet, whether they’re mothers, wives or sisters or anything else, women have a very special role in the collective human story. Their rightful place in our lives, therefore, is at the center.