This story is all about how far your imagination can go. How would the world be if the society was a matriarchy? How would the world be if women took the place of men? This is the story of Aisha, a woman that dreams of a world dominated by women.
I woke up. Ugh, in a world full of men, I would have to ‘strive’ my way to the top, but that man Mukesh, (he’s good but not better than me), would be the Junior Insurance Executive today. “Come down for breakfast, Aisha!” Papa called me down. My Papa? Did Maa go to the grocery?
“Wow, Papa? Pancakes? I’m impressed!” I remarked, the aroma of vanilla hitting me in the face. My dad stood in front of the stove, sweat lining his forehead. I was happy, my dad was a feminist.
“Where’s…”, I was about to ask where my mom was, but seeing her hands on a newspaper covering her face, I exclaimed, “Maa! Why’s Papa making breakfast today?” I asked her.
“Okay, I know! I should be a masculinist, but maybe tomorrow…” she said from behind a newspaper. A newspaper whose headline announced, “Teenager Caden Hill surpasses Hussaina Bolt’s 100m record!”, and the sub-heading read, “Man Power!”
Masculinist? Man Power? Seriously? And who’s Hussaina Bolt? I pinched myself, but it seemed real. “Do you want honey?” Papa asked me, pulling me out of my trance. “What? Umm, no, thank you.” I replied. “You are welcome, Aisha,” he replied, smiling at me gratefully.
When was the last time you thanked your family for doing everything they do for you? Thank them now!
“Where’s Tarun?” I asked my Mom. “He must be getting ready. You know how much time boys take to get ready!” she replied (what?!). My dad handed me a plate with a perfectly round pancake, that looked just as edible as my mom’s does. “It’s awesome, Papa! You’re becoming a better cook!” I exclaimed as I licked my fingers. After eating a hearty breakfast, I made my way to my office. Was it going to be different too?
I drove my car down the congested roads. Shockingly, a car immediately gave me the way as I honked behind it. I thanked the man that was driving it and he nodded his head happily. Wow. That was new. I entered the office building and I saw my boss. Oh, snap. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. In search of a more 'suitable' outfit, I dug through my purse to find a scarf and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Good morning sir!” I greeted him, getting into the lift with him.
“Arre ma’am! Don’t say it like that, you embarrass me!”
“What?” I replied, amused. “Oh!” I said, laughing, “You’re really funny sir!” I continued, getting off the lift. But he continued to go up. His office was right here… I looked at the office, but the nameplate on the door read, ‘Aisha Maheshwari’. But that’s me. And I am not the Insurance Executive. I am years away from being that. I stood outside the gate and laughed, “You’re all pranking me, right?” I looked around. No one laughed, but they looked up and seemed to be terribly intimidated.
“What’s up with you?” Sania said. Sania! She would explain what's happening!
“Oh, thank god! Sanjeev Sir just joked around saying that he’s a level below me! And now, this!” I said.
“Who’s Sanjeev? What’s wrong with you? Now just keep your bag in your office and come to the conference room. We have to discuss the deal with Indrani and Daughters.”
Ok. I was in a parallel world. Where men were women. And women were men.
What do you think feminism is?
"Oh god! Look at what Ashish is wearing?"
"What's wrong with that? Yes, it is a little translucent, but he is wearing a vest.“
"Aisha, stop talking like those rioting, masculinist men!” Sania whispered to me.
“Yeah…” I chuckled nervously. I unwrapped my scarf and wore it around my neck. I was not required to cover up.
“Hey, do you wanna go to that club, Ice Pick, tonight?” she asked me.
“Yeah, sure. What time?”
“The usual, meet you there at 1?”
“Isn’t that a little late?” I asked her.
“Oh, stop acting like a man!” she replied, smirking at me.
Of course, this was a world where I could roam around the city without caring about anything, at all! I could be on the roads no matter how late in the night (or early in the morning) it is. I could get drunk. And expect to reach home safely in the morning. I was the dominant one, and it makes sense! What’s in the world I can’t do? And there are things that a man can’t do, but I can!
Finally! A world where the better gender gets the better part!
It’s a dream. It’s still a dream. But we don’t pursue that dream, we aim for a world where women are equal to men, not superior. Feminism is not matriarchy. Feminism is equality. I don’t want men to be what they are in Aisha’s dream. But I want women to be what they are in her dream. A world where women behave as men do in our world. They behave equally because they are equal.