DOES SOCIETY EXPECT WOMEN TO BE STRONG ALL THE TIME, EVEN WHEN THEY NEED SUPPORT? #313
Greetings hivians.
At first, let me ask you a question that many people are afraid to ask.
When a man cries, society says, "be strong, be a man."
But when a woman cries, what does society say?
Society says, "stop crying, you are a mother. Be strong for your children."
"Stop crying, you are a wife. Be strong for your husband."
"Stop crying, you are a woman. Women are supposed to endure."
We have turned women into superheroes, and then we forgot that even superheroes get tired.
THE STRONG WOMAN LIE
We praise women for being strong. We call them
"strong mother,"
"strong wife,"
"strong woman."
But have we ever asked them if they want to be strong all the time?
A woman wakes up by 4am.
She cooks.
She cleans.
She prepares the children for school.
She goes to work or to her shop.
She comes back.
She cooks again.
She helps with homework.
She takes care of her husband.
She takes care of old parents.
And when she says, "I am tired," what do we tell her?
Other women are doing it too.
My mother did it and she never complained.
You are a woman, this is your duty.
We have made suffering a badge of honor for women. If a woman suffers quietly, we call her a good woman. If a woman says she is tired and needs help, we call her lazy.
That is not love but that is wickedness.
WOMEN ARE HUMANS AND NOT MACHINES
Let us say this truth clearly that a woman is a human being first, before she is a mother, a wife, or a daughter.
She has blood in her veins.
She has a heart that breaks.
She has a body that gets tired.
She has a mind that gets overwhelmed.
When she is tired, she deserves to rest and not to be judged.
When she is sad, she deserves to be comforted and not to be told to be strong.
When she is sick, she deserves to be cared for and not to be told to still cook for everybody.
When she is broken, she deserves support and not to be told, you are a woman, endure it.
Remember that a car that never rests will break down and a phone that never charges will die. How much more a human being?
Why do we expect a woman to carry the whole family on her head and still smile? If a man carried that same load for one week, he would run away.
WHO IS SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT THE SUPPORTER?
This is the biggest question.
Women support everybody.
They support their husbands.
They support their children.
They support their parents.
They support their churches.
They support their communities.
But who supports the woman?
When the husband loses his job, the wife encourages him and when the wife loses her business, who encourages her?
When the child is sick, the mother stays awake all night and when the mother is sick, who stays awake for her?
We tell women to be strong, but we never give them strength.
Strength does not come from empty words. Strength comes from rest, from love, from help, from someone saying, "today, you rest. I will handle it."
A woman does not need another motivational speech. She needs a helping hand.
WHAT SHOULD SOCIETY DO?
Let Women Rest Without Guilt.
A woman who rests is not lazy.
She is recharging. If she sleeps for 2 hours in the afternoon, the world will not end.Share The Load.
Husbands, help your wives. Children, help your mothers. Brothers, help your sisters. Strength is not in watching a woman suffer, strength is in helping her carry the load.Let Women Cry And Ask For Help.
It is not weakness for a woman to say, I need help but it is courage. The weakest thing a society can do is punish a woman for being honest about her pain.
MY FINAL WORD
If you love a woman, do not just call her strong.
Help her to stay strong.
Do not praise her for suffering in silence. Praise her by reducing her suffering.
Because one day, the strong woman you refused to help will become tired. And when a strong woman finally breaks, everybody around her will feel it.
Women do not need to be strong all the time.
They need to be loved all the time.
They need to be supported all the time. They need to be allowed to be human all the time.