Her... (The Strength Of Every Woman)

By Akanksha Sapkal

We live in a male dominant society, don’t we? Most of the men in our society prefer to be in control over women, many women also believe, that they need a man to protect them. This mindset is the reason, why many women are turning blind eye to their career; but there are some other examples too, which says otherwise. There are many women who became voice of change to prove that a woman can be a better leader too. I can give many examples, but this is not about them, this is the story of a mere ordinary girl, like me, like every other girl; who fought against every obstacle on her way, and became the woman she is now. She might not be famous, but she surely left an impact on me.

It was bright morning; first day of my first ever job. I was sitting in an auditorium packed with many people, waiting for their turn to give an introduction. I was continuously tapping my feet, because of building anxiety, that’s when I saw this girl. The sharp, hazel brown eyes, pale snow-white skin, for someone ordinary, she had pretty distinctive features; but those were nothing compared to her most pleasant smile. “What a beautiful girl!” was my first thought? By the end, I realized she is nice girl, mostly extrovert, she talked to almost everyone present in the auditorium, highlight on almost, because I was not that talkative, we barely exchanged 2 words that day, luckily we were assigned the same project so I knew I am going to see her around a lot.

A month went by in bliss; my bonding amongst the team was improving, and we were becoming friends. But while we both were adjusting, I observed few things.

It is a common belief that beauty is important aspect of personality; however we have to agree that beauty comes with a curse. It’s hard to say if she is loved for her face or heart. The case was similar here; “Have you seen her! She can charm anyone with her beauty.” This was the most common opinion we heard about her, and to our disappointment we heard it more often than usual. What about her talent though? She was pretty clever; a fast leaner too, but her beauty was always more appreciated than that, but even after everything, I never saw slightest bit of conflict on her face. Although she was hurt, she never showed it on her face; she just used to smile and ignore. I always used to wonder, “Why she is not reacting?” I wanted to ask, but I was not sure how. It was just a matter of time, we became friends, more like best friends, and I realized that she is so used to these kinds of people, that she got tired of proving herself, so she just ignored them; she can’t change opinion of every person now, can she? So, this was the best option.

This was only small part of her struggle though, when she was confident that I was trustable, she shared it with me. Well, beauty has its perks but it has disadvantages too. She used to be surrounded with lots of people, but there were only few she can trust. Mostly, everyone liked her for her beauty, but they mistook her for naïve girl, which was added advantage. And if that was not enough she got betrayed by the person she trusted the most. She was ready to fight for him, even with her parents, but he was in it for her beauty it seems. Even though she understood it bit late, she knew where to draw the line, and when he couldn’t pass it, he did the most terrible mistake, and lost her for good.

But this wasn’t end; she wasn’t aware what was coming for her. During pandemic, when lockdown happened, we were slowly adapting to new normal. That is when I got the news that her father tested COVID positive, and was admitted. It was pretty serious. During that time as well, when I was facing

similar situation, she was there for me, when I was scared, she was there to support me, to console me. Slowly things were getting better for me, but on other side it got worse for her. Few days later, I got the news that she lost her father. Everyone was pretty shocked by the news, we tried our best to console her, but of course that was not enough.

A month went by with no contact whatsoever, just the updates that she was quite better, until finally I talked with her, I was amazed by her perspective when she said “I did everything I can, what happened was out of my hand, nothing will bring him back, I have to move on, and I am trying to.” And she did her best in that too. She fought like the tigress she is, she took the responsibility of her whole family, not only financially but emotionally too. She became backbone of her family, she proved again and again that she is capable, and she doesn’t need a man for that. Her family was her support system and she was there’s. Since the beginning, she fought her every battle by herself, at first she was just leading her own life towards better path, but now she was leading her whole family.

The god has strangest way of showing love, and she experienced it pretty closely. It seems she lost more than she gained, but she knows better than anyone else what she gained. But one thing for sure, I said it before, I would like to say it again, she never needed a man to fight her battles, she was capable enough to protect herself, and just like her, every woman is capable to lead her life in her own way, with or without man by her side.

By Akanksha Sapkal