-Reeti Deep Rijal
A woman, often known as the creator of life. She is a mother, astronaut, lawyer, or someone who may have nothing yet still shares love immensely. A woman’s world is small in some ways, as it often revolves around the people she cherishes. Yet, the impact of her existence is immeasurable.
As a female myself, I have never personally experienced gender bias. I have always had a seat at the table, been offered opportunities, and seized them without hesitation. However, I can only imagine the agonizing struggles of the generations before me, women who had to navigate a world that barely acknowledged their worth beyond their roles as caregivers. How horrid it must have been for them to raise children while managing an entire household with little to no recognition.
“A woman’s right is a human right.” I have read this quote a gazillion times, yet I still find unfairness in how the world functions. Women have often been compressed under the weight of societal expectations, forced into boxes too small for their vast potential. But this is 2025, a time when voices can and should be heard. A new sisterhood is being built, one that excludes the generational trauma that has burdened women for years. Women stand stronger together, lifting each other rather than tearing one another down. A woman is the greatest gift to mankind. However, even within these voices of empowerment, some are still silenced somewhere in the world.
While we fight for women in pain, pray for them, and worship their strength, somewhere a cloth is being forced into a woman’s mouth, silencing her cries. This is also a world where women face rape, abuse, and harassment daily. And tragically, it is also a world where some women become the enemies of other women.
My mother always said, “The reason behind a woman’s downfall is often another woman.” How has this side of the world never embraced the unity of sisterhood? How horrifying is it that a woman’s reputation can be tarnished in mere seconds? How easy is it to judge someone at a glance? How much pain has been inflicted on one woman by another?
It is not only sons who need to be taught to respect women, some women need to learn that too. Pulling each other down, body shaming, and hurling slurs is not the essence of womanhood. What is the point of the fight for equality if we, as women, cannot even stand by one another? Women before us have fought for the right to work, vote, and be treated as equals. We have evolved through time, yet why does a part of the world still refuse to accept change? Why, in the 21st century, do some women still find themselves bound by outdated expectations and cruel betrayals from their own gender?
My question is: why do we do this to somebody’s daughter, sister, grandmother, or aunt? Why do we silence the voices of our own kind instead of amplifying them? Sisterhood should be the greatest gift to womankind, a force that uplifts rather than destroys. The journey towards true equality does not solely rest on changing men’s perceptions of women but also on how women perceive and treat each other.
It is time for every woman to embrace the strength of unity, to break the cycle of oppression, and to ensure that no woman is left behind in this fight for justice, respect, and dignity.
