Random Thoughts Of The Lady Next Door

Absolutely loving this year's IWD theme because it reaffirms the guiding principle of my life. Although I do not subscribe to unnecessary contentiousness, I have, at the same time, dedicated the entirety of my personal life to challenging systems. Every day, I challenge unreasonable rules. I challenge obsolete traditions and practices. And most of all, I challenge stereotypes. Stereotypes fuel negative bias. They stifle genius. They impose cumbersome expectations, and vilify mavericks. Here's to all girls and women: Just being is enough. Yes, you are awesome just as you are.  And to the heroes without capes who in their fight against all forms of discrimination and stereotypes pave the way for other females across the globe, we see you, we thank you, and we celebrate you. May we never run out of the courage to #ChooseToChallenge Happy International Women's Day!

“The way my mother explained it, the traditional man wants a woman to be subservient, but he never falls in love with a subservient woman. He’s attracted to independent women. He’s like an exotic bird collector. He only wants a woman who is free, because his dream is to put her in a cage.”  Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Pg 195. Some of us were born into freedom, so to speak: born to liberal parents, born into families populated by brilliant, dauntless women and raised under their strong influence, and so we are, by default, audacious; a constant nuisance to patriarchy and its custodians, and unapologetically so. But there are also some of us who did not get these privileges. Some of us were raised by timid women who stifled the desire in us to break free from stereotypes, raised by abusive male figures who killed the confidence in us and left us alone with no support to face the highly prejudiced society.  Thankfully, we have strong women around us who have taught u...