~ Reflections ~

In the Corporate world, I have learnt the hard way that the more you are conscious about your/your team's gender, the more people try and take you for a ride. There is no limit to all the nonsense... You try to be careful, and you are told you are distant... You avoid social gatherings, only to be reprimanded that you are anti social... I am often left wondering if the people would give the same responses if the person on the other side was a male. Conveniently, since a majority of most workplaces are filled with men and sprinkled with women, even a random poll would have unfavourable results. So I have finally concluded that I don't care.. Don't care about what others think.. or what they 'expect' from the girl next door, or rather at the next desk....  Of course I am not worried about intimidating men.  The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.    ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

All of us talk about India being a progressive society. That we are catching up the "modern" world.  That women are now treated equally... or atleast will be. It is a good thought to pursue, since India is one of the few nations in the world where we have the existence of a matriarchal society, where the woman of the house has the right to property, money and business. Don't get me wrong, it is not about the money, but more a sense of power and rights, and the notional symbols attached to it by our society. Needless to say, in most cases, the woman is forced to fight for this right, despite being the care giver towards the later parts of life. And again, by woman, I don't necessarily mean daughter... it could well be the daughter-in-law who has been doing what it takes. But what good is all this power, when the same woman is beaten, raped in wide open streets, and then is told that she is at "fault" and is tainted... ironically due a crime committe...