The balance of LIFE

‘Gender equality’, this used to be the most common topic on which we were being asked to write articles, back in school. ’Is the government doing enough to promote gender equality’, this is another topic which is commonly used for holding debates. Time and again, people have raised their voices and condemned the atrocities against woman, rightly so. But does this imply that men have always led an easy life or have we chosen to oversee the difficulties faced by men. If we take a beam balance and put ‘hardships faced by men’ and ‘hardships faced by women’ on either side, it is obvious that the pointer will slightly tilt towards the pan carrying ‘hardships faced by women’ but the weight on the other side cannot be neglected either.
Female foeticides, rapes, women empowerment, equal rights, these have been subjects of paramount importance for a long time. Unfortunately we have some hypocrites in our society carrying stereotypical thoughts, according to which if a girl is wearing short clothes or ‘showing off her skin’, she is actually inciting a man to rape her, if her bra strip is visible, she gets the tag of being a slut but funnily guys in superman boxers are called "kinda cool".
Even today, in the interior parts of the country, we hear cases about female foeticides. I mean what has that girl child done to you? You didn’t even allow her to have a glimpse of this beautiful world. On a pragmatic note, you would not have been born  if your grandparents would have done the same mistake. This is not the end, if circumstances fail them and the girl child is somehow born, they would accuse the mother for ‘committing the crime’ throughout her lifetime unaware of the fact that it is the Y chromosome coming from father that decides the sex of a child. Now women are even deprived of their right to pray. This is the actual scenario hovering our society. Women have always been the pride of our nation and we must respect them. The Rio Olympics is an epitome example. The heroic display of the ‘daughters of our country’ has brought glory to our nation. Thank God, they were in the Indian contingent!

Now let’s move to the other side of the wall. ‘Beta baap ka naam roshan karega’, if you’re an Indian you will surely here this. It is expected that a boy will carry the name of his family, take up father’s occupation, sometimes may not but will eventually make everyone proud. Sadly, men are assumed to be heartless and stoic. A crying girl draws attention to the world, but a boy shedding tears makes him repulsive to the rest. Men are born with the responsibility of "ghar basana". (Excuse my hindi please).He must ensure the safety of his family and earn enough money such that he is able to feed his family at least three times a day. If he fails to do so he will be termed as a ‘loser’. He has to be a good father, a good husband and a great son. He has to find "the perfect women" and sometimes when they do, they still don't end up together because "rishtedaar nai maane". Imagine the headache, they go through. These are not hardships but expectations or baggage that a man has to carry. The real plight of a common man can be felt from the following instance: A friend of mine was travelling in a cab in Delhi. The driver was narrating an incidence with a glum look on his face. One evening three girls were travelling on his cab. They asked him to increase the volume of the speaker and started smoking. After sometime the driver asked them to stop smoking or else he will be fined by the police for violating the rules and regulations. They didn’t listen to him, asked him to do his job and also abused him by using derogatory words. He thought of seeking help from the police before it’s too late. He parked his car near a policeman, but before he could get out of his car the girls jumped out of the car and told the police that ‘bhaiya ye humare sath battameese kar raha tha’. The policeman thought he was clever enough and he didn’t hesitate to slap the driver. Although later the policeman realized that the girls were indeed smoking and he even warned them. But it was already too late the innocent driver was humiliated. From this incident we cannot have a generalized notion that ‘all girls are ill mannered’ but it indicates that people are serious about the safety of women. A certain section of girls or women who call themselves as feminists fail to understand the actual meaning of ‘feminism’ and  try to take advantages of their rights in the wrong way.
Well this is not a debate to prove that if it is man or woman who face experience more hardships in life. But it is a realization that there is no ‘fairer sex’.  If we want to achieve gender equality and foster development both the sexes must respect each other, acting as opportunists or exploiting our rights will not help in any way.
Moreover, once in a while it's okay to appreciate each others efforts. It's okay to thank each other or say sorry even when you're not wrong, you know, just for that smile on their face. Being a man, doesn't necessarily mean you're always right. A day without your lady will drive you crazy. Well, it's not easy being on either side. It's not easy to earn money or take responsibility of the entire household. So if someone is doing that to bring a smile on your face, appreciate. Say thank you. Say the food was good even if it was plain.
And then, sneak out to the nearest dhaba and enjoy a tandoori chicken.