Women, in their lifetime, play a lot of roles; daughter, sister, wife, and mother. What they aren’t able to do is be themselves in a world that is constantly breathing down their necks to be nurturing to those around them, because what is a woman if not a caregiver? She is allowed to be everything but herself.
When a woman is expected to fulfill these expectations that await her since the time of her birth, her righteous entitlement to grow and discover herself as a person takes a backseat. Her education is the most adversely affected. Some women are stripped of their right to education as a consequence of being born a woman. Marriage, conception, and the following responsibilities are a hindrance in the lives of women who did not willingly consent to the life thrown at them.
Education is a medium of upliftment for an individual as well as the society they belong to. However, being the male counterpart, women aren’t usually at the receiving end of the luxury of education and opportunities similar to that of men. There is always an extra mile for women to walk. A lot of young mothers choose to continue their education in an attempt to uphold their identity beyond simply being a caregiver to their children. Women who wish to pursue further education are often deemed selfish and inefficient in being a mother.
A woman’s existence goes past the societal policing forced upon her. Thriving as an individual is not and should not be a blot on her commitment to her role of being a mother, or any other relationship that she is choosing to be a part of. Vocational training and redeeming independence are significant to individual identity. Women nearing middle age, who often experience empty nest syndrome, utilize their time to refurbish their lost identity.
Motherhood and other familial relationships are more often than not sustained at the cost of endless sacrifices from a woman’s end. Her education and career prospects are substantially influenced by her willingness to be a family woman because anything more than that isn’t usually an acceptable choice to society. Yet, I take pride in being a woman, because an essential part of our identity in a society as limiting as ours, is that we are capable of handling multiple things at once. Specifically when we are told otherwise.