How My Mother-in-law Was Judged For The Brave Choice She Made!

It’s so true that women are constantly judged for the choices they make. And one thing that occurred to me while I sat to write this article is that women are constantly judged by other women. I think we as women should take this pledge today on “Woman’s Day” and stop judging other women. And to bring that change we need to be that change.
It is not my story but I want to take this opportunity to share my mother-in law’s life story here. She had to deal with the loss of her husband at the age of 47 when her children were in their teens. All responsibilities fell on her. Until now she had always taken care of the household responsibilities and never thought about taking up a career as she wanted to spend her time with her family. However she was well educated and raised to be an independent woman by her parents.
My father in law was a banker, and thankfully the bank had a facility to provide job to another family member on compensation basis. She decided she will take up this job and support her family. However, this is when all the judging started. People around her had always perceived her to be a docile person. So they judged her and discouraged her from taking up the job. They judged her to be incompetent. To be sensitive, emotional person doesn’t mean you are weak, but that is how the society judged her. The immediate family was against her taking up the job and wanted her son to take up the job instead of her. But she didn’t want that. He was just in college and she wanted him to study. She didn’t want to ruin his bright career prospects and his future. Again she was judged. She was accused about thinking about herself and not her son.
People form a judgement about others so easily. They had only seen the tolerant, simple lady from the outside but they failed to notice her inner strength. They judged her constantly. They discouraged her by saying, “Do you have any idea how crude the world is?”, “Do you even know what happens in a workplace?”, “It’s not cooking, it’s a job that involves handling cash; Do you understand?” But she dealt with all this taunts. She is a strong woman. She wanted to now take up her husband’s place. She had to be the father and the mother to her children.
With the support of her parents, sisters, children and very few real friends who believed in her, she took the plunge. She served in bank for 13 years and I am so proud of her for doing that. Today my husband has a very successful career, all thanks to her. Today we are a happy family and we as her children are indebted to her for standing by her decision and doing what she did for us.
Today’s woman’s day I dedicate to her and to countless other woman like her, who braves all odds for the well being of their families.
Please #StopJudging!