How Visible Are We ?

She said I love these outfits, I’m comfortable in them,

They weighed about those outfits and called it a ‘mistake’;

She said I love books, I want to pursue an MBA,

They said, why spend so much on her ? She will get married soon, spending on her studies was Called a ‘mistake’,

She said I want to travel and explore,

They said, travelling alone is unsafe and will cause a so called ‘mistake’,

She said I will pay for the bills,

They said, your husband will do it for you, don’t hurt his ego that will turn out to be a ‘mistake’ later,

She said I want to work in night shifts so that I can spend a peaceful day time,

They said, this is a slice of abject terror don’t make that ‘mistake’

She said let’s go man and share a drink together,

They said, she had lost her ethics and morals, her family did a ‘mistake’,

She said I will marry in my thirty’s,

They said, no groom will accept you as a bride then, you will regret for this mistake,

She said I wanna grow in life,

They said then who will take care of your child? Who will correct his mistakes,

So,

When she said I’m fine with wearing a saree,

She was still undraped and raped by people ;

When she said she will marry and quit her books,

She was harrowingly beaten for not being a sophisticated wife ;

When she considered travelling unsafe and her friends accompanied her,

She was still tormented and molested by the pipsqueaks in their presence ;

When she stopped paying for the bills considering her husband to be responsible for it,

She was pushed into the tube-well of dependency and bare minimum money;

When she denied working in night shifts,

She was ousted from her position ;

When she stopped drinking,

World played a dirty game by adding dizziness pills in her soda ;

When she said a yes to becoming a victim of child marriage,

She was married to a rich old man, who seamlessly accepted the dowry ;

And when leaving behind her dreams, she started being a mother and a wife,

Her husband divorced her for his new love that he build while his wife was taking care of his Children;

Being debarred from every moment of happiness and plugging away in every phase of her life,

From the orthodoxical world of mistakes to happiness surrounding pragmatic existence,

She has pushed herself all the time, empowered herself with the divinity and faith, graced herself to Apologies and patted herself in her victories,

The journey – where 'mistake' was a spitted word on her freedom,

The journey – where mistakes wanted to cage her life

She fought, she strived hard and won visibly enough to answer every standing woman’s question

‘How visible are We?’