she

Do you know about that line ‘ Dho dalla”(to wash off)? You know that favorite advertising jingle where using a particular washing soap brand is used and safedi ki jhankaar happens. Well, Punjab is no less.

WE procreate and with a 50-50 chance have daughters and sons (the fairer sex which is lucky to be allowed to born). And we bring them up, give them the best education, making them competent women of today, be it doctors, engineers, qualified architects, dentists and also the honorary BSF, Army force and now even the newly forced government has women commandos. Punjab has a rich history, of being a land of plenty, progressive state where the men have reached the zenith in form of power, land, money, and fame and have reached every nook and corner. They say, in the world you will always find a potato and a sardar. We have laws that practically govern every moment of our lives and every breath we take. There is one whereby daughters also have an equal share in the property of the father.

However, this is where it gets interesting. Men, progressive, 30 something men are of the opinion (fathers themselves) that daughters do not require a share if they are well off in their in-laws place. What does well – off mean? I don’t know the answer to this one.

Men think (oh they do you see!) that daughters should not be given a share; yes if they are troubled then a dole out should be given.

Is this a company rescue program? Is it a bail –out package for the dying soul? How do you compensate for the emotional pain, she has suffered? Money is the answer but nothing can heal the scars. One learned gentleman went to explain in detail how (if) his daughter if she gets a share in the land and after marriage it goes to his son –in law and then it gets further sub divided with successive generations of girls and their marriages and so forth.

My only question, why should we think it is a she, why do you not give to your child? Why did the question of it come to give to the daughter? Just because the sex is feminine does not make her less competent and less worthy?

Woman want equality as a child, why does the mental conditioning start, that because we are going to spend on your wedding we cannot give you a share. Well, hello my lovelies did your son get married in the pindwala gurudwara?

Dowry does not equate to inheritance. Who came up with the archaic idea that marrying her off is equivalent to washing hands off her? Well as we follow traditions, that’s what we do. Shaadi kar do, dho dallo and then voila! Highest rates of woman abuse, marital discord. We need to equate our daughters in the same scale as our sons. A son is a son till he marries and gets a wife; a daughter is a daughter for life. Why don’t we think how sometimes sons move out, want to buy a house, live somewhere else or want to set up a new business, why do we proudly strut about and set up his business? Why is this so different for one’s daughter?

Umm, what did you all say?

 It’s different; well which codebook said so? Must have been another set old fogies who felt threatened by women and wanted to keep everything in their power.

Sorry folks, it’s nothing to do with division, or fragmentation of land (agricultural land), or a business house being split into half, it’s all about control. The six-letter word which is what makes men tick. They want control for themselves and then are duplicated for their progeny minus the girls.

If this all is a bit harsh, sorry but no sorry. I say it like I see it. Women want equality form birth, think of us as human and then secondary as the sex bestowed by our fathers.

Empathy and compassion all rule and get better results always. Property division, monetary gains, if conducive to the son should be the same for a daughter, just because she is a she ; she should not be denied the right .

She is a she created by a he divided by Mammon. Why?