Of Women

So many of us have so often encountered countless people, men and women, who meet us with a long list of what a woman must and mustn't do, wear, talk, pray, hope and say. So much so that most of us, when faced with doing something new and untried often find ourselves wondering what people would say of this. While we all have some obligations towards maintaining decorum, no obligation should be at the cost of one's own freedom of thought. Moreover, obligations and opinions are often subjective, so one must always be true to one's own thought, to oneself. Certainly the prevailing conditions have improved much for the woman of today in comparison to the woman of Elizabethan era, or even during the time of Virginia Woolf herself. Even so, one cannot help but find disparity  still existing in the treatment of women. I still see brothers deciding how much their sisters should study, who they should marry, where they are allowed to go and so forth. Yes, family is important, but in the name of family, or protection, a woman should not be stifled. We must teach our women to protect themselves rather than impressing upon them that they need protection by a male. Sadly, most women are now so complacent in their subjugated role, ever so dependent on the males of their house for the tiniest of the things. So content have some become that they want to continue in this role and very often don't realize the subjugation until pushed to the point of exasperation. And even if one woman were to attempt to break free and set her own path, the possibilities and the feasibility of it seems so unlikely that very few venture out at all.  She has very few people to look up to, and most of them who may have pursued their wish end up being the subject of ridicule. The question also arises that if a woman in content in her role as a subjugated woman, why raise this hue an cry at all? After all, woman empowerment should essentially be leading up to happiness, contentment. The problem however is that most women are content with such a role because they don't know what other possibilities exists for them besides that, as also because perhaps their lives are much better than their peers whose family imposes on them more restrictions that their own. Essentially comparing their situation to someone more downtrodden and being thankful for that. Also, over centuries us women have been wired to please others and keep others (parents, grandparents, brothers, in-laws, husband, relatives) happy and to place others happiness above her own, a trait that is considered most desirable in any woman. I love my family, but any family which, in the name of family values and love, twists a woman into doing things that go against her very nature, are they even considering the woman's happiness at all?