By Moadh Bukhash (@MoadhBukhash)
From the day we are born, providing us nourishment, love and care, to the day we meet the one that makes all others pale in comparison, to the day we have one of our own to pass on our wisdom and adoration; women play a pivotal role in shaping our societies, a role that can never be overlooked or swept under the rug.
The mother who carried our weight for nine long months, taking every measure to ensure that we are well nourished, carefully handled, and well taken care of. We never witnessed the struggles before we came out to the light of day, but what sacrifices our mothers have taken for us to be here are immeasurable. It is from that day on that we can see what our mothers’ fine touches did to shape us into who we are today, truly being our first and foremost education. Onwards to our youthful years where our mothers were there to teach us about social context, manners, right and wrong, all the while showering us with love to give us confidence in ourselves. On to our adult years, where they act as our personal advisers, blessing us with their knowledge and life experiences to make sure we do not make an incorrect step forward, but of course never forgetting to remind us why it would be a wrong step. We are but a piece of our mothers, born out of them to come into this world equipped with their guidance and unconditional love to reach our own goals and fight for our own ambitions.
The wife, partner, lover, or whatever you would refer to her as, that person that comes in to whisk you away, to make you forget all the experiences of your past, and throw away all other possibilities in the future. The person you most confide in, and most care about their opinion of you, the life partner that will be by your side till the very end. What can we say about our other halves? Through thick and thin, they stay by our side, picking us up when the world turns against us, and cheering us on when things go our way. They give us the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to pass on our legacy, to build a family based on our own values, rules, and principles; they give us the gift of having unconditional love to another human being. The gift of seeing your own flesh and blood grow into what we hope them to be. There are few things that are as beautiful as having that someone by your side, through it all.
And of course, the daughter. Is there any affection and a love so true than that we have for our daughters? While we would have our sons follow through a certain path, our daughters show us that our path can take a softer approach, keeping us in line but with a gentler touch. Our daughters are our symbols of beauty, of innocence, conversely we are their windows of comparison; every person they come in contact with are to be compared against us, all traits good and bad. Until the day we have to give them away, turning us into their fortresses of normality, of comfort; one that they can always turn to, one that will always be there in their hour of need.
I am reminded of a late artist that said “since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman, and our game from a woman. I wonder why we take from women… do we hate our women?” What we need to recognize is the role women play in our lives, from the first breath to the last; they are by our side, sticking it out with us, all the while with a smile.
July 2011 – The 16th issue:
Here We Start – Special Contribution – Community Talk – Just Another Undergrad
Living Through the Eyes of Art – Society of Tomorrow – The Mind’s Eye – To The Point
Sign up to Sail Newsletter
Never miss another article!
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
Beautiful appreciative article!
I think that people got used to the usual role of women that it became "expected" of them to do these things, and is somewhat an obligation. Therefore mothers, wives, and daughters are not as appreciated as they should be sometimes.
Very interesting & I enjoyed reading it.