Be Human First – Rethinking Womanhood in a Patriarchal Society
Whenever I hear the phrase “surviving in a patriarchal society,” I often pause and reflect on my own journey. Many of the stories we hear are about struggle and resistance. Those stories are important, and many women carry them with immense courage. I have great respect for them.
But perhaps not every story about womanhood begins with struggle. Mine began with example.
In my home, life was never framed around strict ideas of what a man must do and what a woman must do. Instead, I watched my parents simply do what needed to be done, each contributing in ways that suited their strengths, temperament, and character. There was no constant comparison about equality. There was simply a quiet rhythm of shared responsibility and trust.
The men in my life have shaped this understanding deeply. My father showed me that respect and partnership are stronger than authority. My brother grew up in that same environment and became a man who values and respects women for who they are. From my husband, I learnt that what ultimately matters most is living with honesty, sincerity, and full involvement in whatever we do. When we show up to life in this way, many labels and expectations begin to lose their hold over us.
Perhaps the greatest gift the men in my life gave me was the freedom to simply be – a life, a human being.
Because of this, “being a woman” has never felt like the central definition of who I am. I have come to believe that within each of us there is both strength and gentleness, logic and compassion; what we sometimes call the masculine and the feminine. These qualities are not owned by one gender; I believe they live within all of us.
My work at the National Institute of Speech and Hearing deepened this perspective even further. Meeting people with different abilities and backgrounds from across the world helped me see the extraordinary beauty of human diversity and how rarely we pause to celebrate it.
Perhaps this is what “Give to Gain” means to me. When we live with respect, openness, and kindness, we quietly pass those values on. What we give through our actions and the examples we set shapes the world someone else grows up in.
One thought that has stayed with me through my journey is this: when we live our lives celebrating people for who they are, beyond labels of gender, background, ability, or belief, we quietly give others the freedom to do the same.
Perhaps that is also the spirit of Women’s Day: not only to reflect on struggles, but also to celebrate the examples that show us what a more humane and compassionate world can look like.
Because before anything else, we are simply human beings.
A thought I try to remember:
Be human first. Everything else is only one part of our story.
Aswathy Vinod
Education Consultant
