I am woman, hear me rawr

For more than a year, I worked for Gender and Development. It was a very gratifying job because it was a campaign to equalize the playing field for men and women, with the idea that women are the disadvantaged group.

It's super easy being feminist. You just need to look at your mothers to realize how difficult it is to be a woman, what with all the responsibilities and having to live with stereotypes.

One huge example that always comes to my mind is this: Why is it that when men excuse themselves from work to attend to their children, they get lauded for it, while when it's a woman asking to leave work early to tend to her sick child, she comes off as irresponsible? Why the double standard?

I'm not saying women should start a revolution and go all out-amazona on men. Men have issues too and the whole point of gender and development is to achieve equality between genders. Men should understand and pay attention to women, while women should start recognizing that stereotypes on men should likewise be eradicated.

I am proud to be a woman, in fact my ultimate dream is to become a housewife. I think that is the pinnacle of success simply because for me, housewives are the fortunate ones-- they don't need to work because their husbands can support their family. They have the wonderful privilege of constantly being there for their children without the trouble of balancing work and family life. Plus-- I've always dreamt of seeing myself as one of those suburban housewives who stays home all day baking pies and crocheting-- really, being a house wife is the BEST profession for me.

To end this post, let me leave you a beautiful poem that I think best represents Gender and Development (I got teary eyed the first time I read this):

For Every Woman 

By Nancy Smith 

For every woman who is tired of acting weak when she knows she is strong, there is a man who is tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable. 

For every woman who is tired of acting dumb, there is a man who is burdened with the constant expectation of "knowing everything." 

For every woman who is tired of being called "an emotional female," there is a man who is denied the right to weep and to be gentle. 

For every woman who is called unfeminine when she competes, there is a man for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity. 

For every woman who is tired of being a sex object, there is a man who must worry about his potency. 

For every woman who feels "tied down" by her children, there is a man who is denied the full pleasures of shared parenthood. 

For every woman who is denied meaningful employment or equal pay, there is a man who must bear full financial responsibility for another human being. 

For every woman who was not taught the intricacies of an automobile, there is a man who was not taught the satisfactions of cooking. 

For every woman who takes a step toward her own liberation, there is a man who finds the way to freedom has been made a little easier. 

 Here's to every woman and man who ever dreamt of a discrimination-free and gender fair world!

Jacket - Liberte
Leopard print dress - Cherry Float Shop
Brown strappy sandals - Parisian
Gold studded waist belt - People R People