I Feel As If The Chains Around Me Do Not Exist When I Write

The spirit of a woman which has been caged within the societal norms made by men to serve needs to be freed. So that she can take a flight without any limits which is her very nature. My words give me the freedom to give voice to the predicaments and oppression that women suffer. I write to highlight how in the most subtle manner a woman is discriminated against each day from her birth to death.

I have grown up in a small town of Madhya Pradesh in India. India has for ages followed a patriarchal form of society where the reign of family and society has always been in the hands of men. Women have been relegated to secondary treatment in all aspects. The picture in major parts of India has continued to remain the same despite stepping into the modern age where such ideas are discarded. The ground reality is grim; the life of a woman is a struggle in itself.

I grew up as a woman and my own voice was silenced when it went against the accepted norms.

I took to writing which turned out to be a way to unleash all that was suppressed inside over the years. I found a way to communicate and to give voice effectively as my words could not be bound by anything. That was the beginning of my journey as a writer which led me to become an author.

I feel free, I feel as if the chains around me do not exist at all when I write. It gives me the freedom to say aloud all that is forbidden.

There are challenges too when I do that, it is not always taken well by some people. At times I cannot be as bold as I want to be as a woman writer, even when my heart aches and my hands want to write it plainly something holds me back and that is the fear of being judged as a woman. Even though other people's opinion does not matter to me but I have a family and I don’t wish to bring them any displeasure. This is not just what I face as a writer but every woman writer has similar concerns.

Suggested Reading:

Stories Showcasing Aspirations And Challenges Of North-Eastern Women

I could never get the plight of women out of my head, as writing was becoming a part of me; my writings too gradually began to reflect every woman’s cause.

"Silence took over the house as the child's first cry rang, with this, the tail of perpetual misery on her part began.

Ohh! it is a girl they said and shook heads in despair as unfulfilled was their demand.

The usual celebration didn't follow like it did when a boy was born. Next in line were, many presents for the girl who didn't know this was a man's world.

Presents like each day's suffering and a reminder of how she was never the plan. Though naive, while growing up she understood what it was that she had to endure.

It was each day that she was to protect herself as she was not secure. Neither outside nor within her so-called 'home' which had the four walls enclosed.

There were predators lurking behind every face familiar or unfamiliar with intentions impure."

This is just one of the many drafts I have written over the past few years which are women-centric trying to highlight what a woman has to go through in her life. I look forward to writing in this direction only, sometimes through poems, sometimes stories or even a complete novel dedicated to every woman. This has always been my vision to be the voice of women and since I do it well through writing so I write.

Ever since I have started writing I have realised that it is a great means of communication that touches the heart of the readers and I can use this means to send out the message loud and clear. This is why I write.

Ayushi Raghuwanshi is the author of And Her Story Begun. The views expressed are the author's own.

You can also join SheThePeople's Book club on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.