"I'm pregnant," Mahi told her husband. His face sparked up with joy, but just like a spark that fails to ignite, Ravi's joy died down immediately.
"I don't have a job! How are we going to feed the baby?!"
"We'll work on the salary I have, I'll take a maternal leave, but we'll..."
"No, Mahi. You should quit after a few months. I'll start looking for a job."
"But, I already have a well-established..."
"No, Mahi! A baby needs its mother, I'm going to work for my family. I'll earn."
One of the reasons Mahi married Ravi was because he didn't have a male ego. He stayed at home while she worked. But, like every other father she could think of, he had finally developed a male ego. He wanted to be the archaic breadwinner. But, did that mean that Mahi's fight against the biased world was over?
Everyone expects expectant mothers to make a choice between their child and their career. She didn't want to make a choice. Mahi didn't want to let go of her profession just because she wanted to spend time with her baby. Are mothers not free enough to not make a choice?
Mahi looked at the metaphorical glass wall that was in front of her. She couldn't go further just because she had another being inside of her. Didn't she deserve to be appreciated for that? No other man could do what she was doing, shouldn't she be congratulated for that? But she wasn't. At her workplace, she was constantly reminded of her incapability to work once she became a mother. At home, she was told to leave her job as soon as her husband found a job. Was this what being a mother meant? Being told to not go outside the limits the society set for you?
Is Mahi supposed to break the limits set for her? Will she?
She wished that she could be happy for her baby, just like every mother. She wished to not be pressured into becoming someone, she wanted to be who she was: change only for herself. Within months, she and Ravi separated. She continued to work and take care of her daughter, Asha: her new hope.
She decided to not make a choice. She broke the maternal glass wall in front of her. She deserved it.
Did Mahi set an example for every expectant, working mother? What do you think?