On International Women’s Day

We’ve been evolving through a patriarchal society for centuries and many a brave woman fought for the rights we have today. The day will come when we by default hold all the reigns of our existence, and that day is fast approaching.

What we need to do in the interim is to #BreakTheBias; we need to do our part as women of the world to show our male counterparts that their assumptions and biases towards us are misplaced, and we need to shed the light on our own biases:

Embrace Your Emotions But Keep Them Under Control
Men always think that women are irrational, emotional beings and while that may sometimes be true, our emotions are our source of strength. It’s what makes us see the world from our own unique perspective that is essential for the continuity of love and harmony in the world. So, yes, be emotional but don’t let those emotions rule you and make you behave irrationally.

Keep Your Guilt In Check
Women of the Middle East, particularly, always feel guilty for every action and thought we have as we were raised with very specific lines that we need to behave within. While well-meaning, many of those lines are nonsense themselves. For example: don’t laugh out loud, ‘3eib’, it’s unbecoming of a woman. Why can a man laugh whole-heartedly and a women can’t? Don’t feel guilty when you break a silly rule that stemmed from skewed patriarchal views to begin with.

Whichever path we choose is ours and ours alone to choose.

Being Weaker Doesn’t Make You Lesser
Being physically weaker than men, of course not all of us but generally, or any perceived weakness for that matter, is always used as an excuse to label us and keep us subdued. But, being weaker doesn’t mean you’re any less – true power and strength are in character – own it and show it and be proud of it.

Normalize The Female Way
For some women staying at home and raising children is the suitable option, for some it’s a job with flexible hours, for others it’s working from home, and for some it’s working within the rigid framework of the corporate world – all these and other options are okay and we should support one another on our chosen paths and send a loud and clear signal that whichever path we choose is ours and ours alone to choose.

Stop Judging Each Other For Our Choices
Most importantly, stop judging other women on their choices in life, clothes, career, marriage, or whatever they may choose to do or live by. This judgment feeds the biases that exist and only serves to provide ammunition to the rest of society to continue being the way they are towards women.

Celebrate all that makes a woman a woman and, on this day, #BreakTheBias. Let me know in the comments how you plan on or did break the bias.