Such A Nasty Woman

She was born to a set of happy parents and mildly unhappy relatives. She did not have any siblings. The extended family hugged her, blessed her everytime that they met her, and then tut-tut-ed wondering how the family name would continue. She failed to understand why was that even important. She went to college, got her degree and earned herself a job. She got married off to a reasonably decent guy, and embraced motherhood obediently after a year. The husband and the baby needed a full time care-giver, and that was the end of her career. When she put her foot down and demanded support from her husband after 2 years of feeling shut-down from the world, she was called ‘a nasty woman’.

She was born to doting parents and had a happy childhood. She got through school with a flair for the languages. She was a smart student and took to writing in college. She had a lot of friends, and gender was insignificant to her. She met someone amazing and after a 3 year relationship, she had a diamond on her finger. One fine day, there was an objection to her going out for dinner with her best friend, a boy. And then, there were more. When she refused to ‘cut it out’, she was called ‘a nasty woman’.

She was a headturner and a sassy, confident girl. She was an honors student at college and was a master cocktail-mixer. She smiled too much, laughed too much, and had too many boys as friends. The whispers had it that she was ‘easy’. She enjoyed living her life at her own terms. She threw amazing parties, and was a natural event organizer. She just made one mistake, that of trusting her friend. When she took herself and her bruises to demand justice, they said she was asking for it. She was called ‘a nasty woman’.

She was one of the best at her firm. She believed in efficiency, over donkey work.  She received the best reviews possible from her clients. She would get to work on time, put in her 200%, and leave on time. Yet, she was looked over for promotion to be a team leader because the bachelor boys stayed until 10 pm(nothing better to do at home, plus free dinner at cafeteria!) She escalated the issue to the HR. The word was that she was too pretty and young to be a lead. When she objected, proving herself to be the most deserving, she was called ‘a nasty woman’.

They tried to break the glass ceiling, to build a better world, to provide themselves a better life, to get educated, to love beyond s*xuality standards, to follow the God they believe in, to have a right to their own body, to decide for their future, to save Mother Earth. But that tag never left them. ‘Such a nasty woman’.

All the #NastyWomen unite!