If men have a penis, women have words

A lot has been said and discussed about the second-hand status of women in India, and the customs and practices that have contributed to their helplessness. Not taking away from my advocacy of equal rights for men and women, I, somewhere, also feel that Indian women have self-victimized themselves a fair bit, whereas men have failed to acknowledge the worth of their women and look at the beauty and hilarity, when it comes to the chemistry between the two species. The negative consequences of our co-existence have outdone how much our distinctness has added different dimensions to our life and made it worthy enough. I feel it's time we end this contest of pitting men and women against each other and celebrate the different aspects of womanhood and manhood and revel in the glory of their idiosyncrasies.

As a Gujarati, most women that form a part of my family and community have been homemakers. And the one thing about Gujarati women that I have commonly observed is their unapologetic way of life. It seems like they wear their pride on their sleeves. Be it fancying their motto - Live, breathe, think and enjoy what you eat - or finding solace in flaunting real jewellery, they do it all with aplomb. In fact, if you're a Gujarati woman and don't quite reflect these typical habits, be ready to forgo your cultural ties. My poor father is quite often subjected to taunts from my mother, who proudly claims that she has been a lucky mascot for him and is the reason for his success. My father, who has happily accepted this claim, now lives to succeed at taking risks courtesy of my mother's good luck.

Women in general have a natural flair for remembering their fights from years ago and using them as a weapon to cut open anybody who tries to launch a verbal attack on them. Sometime ago, I happened to overhear a conversation between my grandparents. "You're not doing any favour by looking after your 85-year-old husband. I can easily find another partner, who shows concern, care and love for her husband," my grandfather exclaimed with masculine pride. Soon thereafter, I could hear the sound of soft giggles coming from the room. It turned out that my grandmother was barely able to resist laughing. " I shall pity the woman who agrees to marry you," my grandmother snapped back. "I highly doubt if anybody would make that mistake even if you paid her a huge amount of money. Good luck!" she added. Such was the impact of my grandmother's words that my grandfather, a lawyer, was utterly agape and was left grappling for words. I, on the inside, experienced a great sense of pride upon witnessing the ultimate victory of somebody who belonged to my species.

We're at that stage in our lives where it is vital to shift our focus from only looking at the shortcomings, that come as a part of our co-existence. Gone are the days when a father tried to make his daughter his son to acknowledge her high worth. If a son is capable of carrying forward the family's legacy, then a daughter is capable of firmly holding the strings that connect a family together. Indulging in a battle, which puts the two genders against each other, is just taking away from their individual worth. And don't forget that a penis cannot do wonders without a vagina.