Women: The Eternal Victims
While it is true that women face discrimination and harassment, it is equally true that constantly accusing men of making women feel this way is not helping either.
It is spreading negativity and building a culture of suspicion. Since childhood, little girls continue to hear that men harass women, that men discriminate against them, and that opportunities are kept away from them. An environment is created where men are not considered as collaborators—instead, they are considered people to be wary of.
When teaching children about the struggles of women, schools and media are not giving any thought as to how they are representing men. Are they ending up filling the minds of young girls to view men as their enemies? Could this develop a victim mindset in your little girl?
While it is essential to call out injustice by men, it is equally important to call out injustice by women—else the whole of women’s empowerment becomes a movement to target men. Sometimes, some women use their gender as an excuse to evade work and not take responsibility for their own shortcomings, thereby endangering respect for all deserving and hard-working women.
It can also happen sometimes that a woman does not get a position because there is someone else who is more deserving. As women, we have to be open to that possibility. If we are not open, then we are shutting all doors of self-evaluation and self-improvement.
Life is a lot easier as a victim because other people stand up for you as your saviors and do work for you out of sympathy. But if you take charge, you are by yourself. You have to stand up for yourself, confront your fears, make decisions, and have the courage to bear the consequences.
It is time for women to take charge and to follow the difficult path of self-reliance instead of playing the victim. It is time to build a positive society by acknowledging the ways men have supported women in the past and continue to support and encourage them now. Let's not have a mindset in which we default to blaming men—instead, it is time to thank all the men who have helped women succeed.
