By: Asma Shums

Happy Women’s Day to all the women and to all the men who have respect and appreciation for women.
Yes, feel proud to be a woman. Yes, feel proud to be a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, working woman and homemaker too. Being a woman means more responsibility in the culture. Allah has created the woman differently than men. Let us not go in the controversial matters of equality etc,
The world is made up of countries, cultures and societies and families. Women play a very crucial role in a family. She is the center of the family. Man does play an important role as well. She binds the family in a garland of love and selflessness. She has to take care of her family no matter what her personal and mental situation is (in the culture).
Just a Thought
If we must celebrate a day for women, let us celebrate by giving her freedom from stereotype image, from expectations from her, instead give her understanding from idolization and unnecessary sacrifices. Let us congratulate her on being successful, not just behind every successful man but not her own as a mother, wife, daughter or sister.
Let us not just tell her that she is pretty but make her feel that way with our love and respect. Let us not just praise her but celebrate her existence in those roles as an individual. Let us not praise her multi-tasking skills but instead celebrate it by giving fewer tasks not required of her.
Let Her Be
Let her not feel inadequate, incompetent, not pretty, inefficient, imperfect, unideal etc. Let her be bookish, fierce, loud, happy, opinionated, groomed, adventurous, prepared, practical and so on. Let us love her, respect her, value her, cherish her, give her space, treat her as an equal and important person. Let her breathe, let her taste the freedom of being a human being. She is all in one. If we think and try to understand her intellectually, she is out of reach, if we try to understand her with love then she is very simple.
My Home
Have we ever thought which is her home? The home where she is born is her father’s home. The home she is married into is her husband’s home. In her old age, it is her son’s home. Even in the house at every stage, she is under some sort of control. So which is her home? We see so many situations of control by way of financial security and otherwise. When the husband divorces her, she has no financial standing nor is she welcomed in her sister’s or parents’ home without feeling burdened by her presence.
It is about time that we educate our females and encourage them to acquire secular and religious studies and skills to thrive in the modern world without falling into traps of control by others. We should nurture confidence and self-esteem and self-respect. Women should first understand their role and purpose themselves before anyone else trying to understand it.

Just Chill!

Nowadays, the only woman that the men listen to, is Siri.