Ding Dong- Oh hear!

The day she was born, her parents bought her gold;

They said: “She’ll need it when she’s 18 years old”

At 16, her elders forbade her from wearing jeans & tees;

They said: “It will attract men. Don’t wear them, please!”

At 18, they wanted her to get hitched;

They said: “If you delay, the society will think that you are witched”

At 21, her husband wanted her to quit work;

“Don’t earn; Cook and take care of kids”, he told her-like a Jerk!

She did all that was asked of her

To such an extent that her life’s aspirations seemed (to her) like a blur;

And, after all this,

At 40, she asked her son to quit smoking;

“Mom, you don’t know what life is. Do what you are good at”, he said, without a bit of feeling…

Crushed, she wept all night;

She told herself: “My son doesn’t respect me; I need to fight for my right”

She enrolled herself in classes;

Studying along with young 18 yr. old lads & lasses;

Her confidence grew n-fold;

She followed the news and didn’t have to be taught or told;

She thought: “There are 1000s of women like me”

“I need to show them the world the way I see”

She broke free from her shell

And set to spread the “self-respect” spell…

She had heard of women’s organizations which provided support and aid,

But, she wanted to do it differently: with men who would help women w/o wanting to get laid;

To her surprise, she found not just 1 or 2, but a whole bunch: thanks to her “class” friends

Together, they set out to reform the society; to wash corrupt minds and cleanse.

The group travelled from village to village, meeting people; talking to women & men

Facing opposition from every 7 in ten!!!

Nothing deterred them;

Rigid rules and outlandish laws: they continued to oppose and condemn;

Men speaking for women brought about a paradigm shift in the thought process of some;

Others remained silent and mum;

But, they did not stop;

Every effort was in an ocean of reforms, just another drop;

In people, they knew that this effort would seed thoughts of freedom and self- power ;

That was and is, the need of the hour….

So, what about us?

Do we stop at reading an article and making a little fuss?

.

.

No.

Come, let’s join hands and go up to ring the bell of change from the high tower… 🙂

 P.S:

This post has been written for Ring the bell for Indichange initiative in association with http://www.bellbajao.org/