Supervisor: Where were you during lunch break?
Vijaya :
I was outside office premises to visit my 5 month old baby
Supervisor:
Who gave you the permission to step
outside office premises? Who will compensate for hours outside office during
lunch?
Vijaya : I come back within an hour during lunch
break. I will apply earned leaves for uncompensated hours.
Supervisor:
Who gave you the permission of applying leaves? Do you think this is school to
come and go whenever you want?
Vijaya : OK
I will compensate by staying back every day extra
Its Jan 19th 2012, Vijaya, An engineer working
for an automotive MNC is all set to get back to work after her 5 month long
maternity break . She informed her manager about her joining couple of days
earlier who reluctantly nods for her decision. But within days of joining she
confronts such words from her supervisor which makes her very upset.
Being career oriented, she is unwilling to compromise on her job and yet
strikes a balance to carry out her motherly duties. She puts her complete focus
on work during the time in office and gets her job done every day. She quickly
masters the skills required for the new project she is put in. She never thinks
about the discouraging boss she has. All she has in mind is to give her job her
best and be there for her baby. Within couple of months, her immediate
colleagues recognize her potential. She gets a customer appreciation and an
award for outstanding performance in her team soon. She proves her technical
expertise by filing a patent in the male dominated automotive domain proving
the engineer in her.
As we unfold the year 2014 for another woman's day celebration, it is
important to realize that we don’t celebrate womanhood by just a day dedicated
for woman and have some activities stereotypically considered feminine. There
are thousands of Vijayas out there struggling to raise the bar, break the glass
ceiling to prove themselves in spite of odds and balancing to meet their bonds
with the family.
Mary Barra, the highest ranking female executive in the automotive industry
leading a hundred year old pioneer proves that women have come a long way. Yahoo's
Marissa Mayer, IBM's Virginia Rometty are all leading a tech savvy industry
with their innovations for the next generation. With multitasking abilities,
empathy for team, good consumer insights, Women form a creative work force
challenging others who look down upon them for biological reasons.
Going back to philosophical roots,
'Ahalya,
Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari tatha
Panchakanya
smaranityam mahapataka nashakam'.
Meaning
Ahalya,
Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari
One
should forever remember the panchakanya who are the destroyers of great sin
even those God cannot forgive
They are the panchakanya's of Hindu mythology with utmost personal tragedies
yet never lose their inner light, achieve self-actualization in their own terms,
represent the epitome of feminism and change the course of history.
As Nature has created male and female to be complimenting with both
these forces present in all creatures in varying ratios, it is only disappointing
to see the latter being subdued by the former.
Since time immemorial as a daughter, wife, mother -> woman has shown
path for generations with their thirst for knowledge, quest for better quality
of life, compassion and human values. With Inner and external beauty, Woman
form the epicenter of mankind.
Let me reemphasize in the words of a
famous actress Deepika Padukone:
"Feminism
isn't about being aggressive; it's about reaching the top yet being soft. It's
about being YOU — FEMININE, STRONG and FULL OF WILL POWER.”
