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The women folk in her firm only wore salwar-kameez or saris. She had already been mocked at several times for being a bit rebellious. She didn’t wish to stand out for her dress.
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Meena looked at that dress on the hanger with disdain. She so badly wished to wear it to her office too. She and her sister had decided to get similar dresses. Her sister, who worked in a corporate firm wore it coolly, and put on even a little make-up. Not much, but mascara, lipstick and kajal. Meena stared at her blankly.
Her sister asked, “Di, why are you not wearing it? You were so excited while we purchased it yesterday!”
Meena didn’t know what to reply. Her firm was of a different kind. The women folk in her firm only wore salwar-kameez or saris. She had already been mocked at several times for being a bit rebellious. She didn’t wish to stand out for her dress. She replied, “I wanted to wear it when we are going out to dine together!”
After her sister left, she thought of her office life. When she had to go on field visits, she wore jeans with loose shirts. Later, she wore only salwar-kameez with a proper chunni. She had never put on lipstick or kajal or mascara. She wondered why?
Was she also a victim of “What will others say?” Where was her choice? Why this unsaid rule was affecting her so much? Her firm, having a ratio of 95% men to 5% female had an uncanny atmosphere. Was it affecting her?
That day, she decided to finally break the unsaid rules. She not only put on the new dress, but also the mascara, kajal and lipstick and hopped on the bus to her office.
Several people asked her, “Is it your birthday?” When she let the question go by simply smiling, someone asked, “Is it your wedding anniversary?”
Finally, angered, she blurted out, “What I wear is my choice, alright? If there’s a rule, please show me. Let it be passed by the Board of Directors. Otherwise, let me wear what I want!”
People looked at her silently and then, went away. No one ever asked her that question again.
She was finally happy to be able to wear what she wanted!
Neelam Saxena Chandra is an Engineering graduate from VNIT and has done her Post Graduation Diploma in IM&HRD and also in Finance. She has completed a summer course in Finance from London School of read more...
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