When I was born, I didn’t know what went wrong. I didn’t know how I was different.
When I opened my eyes, I saw beautiful faces – but their lips were sealed. I could sense confusion in the air, a silence that didn’t belong to joy. I tried to recognize the familiar scent of warmth and belonging, but all I could hear was a loud discussion somewhere behind me – whispers wrapped in disappointment.
And then, I was left on the cold floor. The ground trembled. I cried – not because I was hungry or scared – but because I could already feel something was wrong. With time, I understood: I was not just a child. I was a girl.
Those who had smiled moments earlier now hesitated to hold me. Their love came filtered through fear, tradition, and bias. I grew up believing that I was part of a world that celebrated my beauty but questioned my existence.
The Unspoken Rulebook
As I grew older, I realized it wasn’t just my home. The entire world seemed to move in a rhythm that left no space for women to breathe freely.
We were admired, but not respected.
We were cherished, but not trusted.
We were protected, but not empowered.
Society celebrated our grace, not our grit. Our worth was tied to how quietly we served, how politely we agreed, and how seamlessly we sacrificed. We were made queens of compromise – not rulers of destiny.
And the tragedy was – the rules that caged us were not written in stone, but etched into the minds of men who never understood what it meant to live in our skin.
The ones creating rules for women had never been one.
The ones setting boundaries for us had never walked inside them.
Conditioned to Conform
Time passed, and those rules became memories. Then they became habits. And eventually, they became attitudes.
Generations of women began living under the same silent code – not because we agreed with it, but because we were told that resistance would make us undesirable, disobedient, or dangerous.
We learned to lower our eyes before we learned to dream.
We learned to say “yes” before we learned the power of “no.”
We learned to endure before we were ever taught to aspire.
Even when we wanted to break free, the idea of being a woman had been so deeply weaponized that our rebellion often began with guilt.
We were made to believe that wanting more was selfish, that ambition was arrogance, and that freedom was betrayal.
We were given permission to work – but not to lead.
We were allowed to speak – but not to question.
We were told we were equal – but the rules of equality were still written by men.
The Illusion of Liberation
And then came a new trick of the world – the illusion of freedom.
They took us out of the homes they had once called our cages and placed us in offices, panels, and conferences. They said we were “liberated.” But they never changed the system – they just changed the scenery.
Now we were free to dream, as long as the dream didn’t threaten anyone’s comfort.
We were free to rise, as long as we stayed graceful while doing it.
We were free to earn, as long as we never forgot to serve.
We started calling it empowerment – but many of us were still puppets dancing to the same patriarchal tune, dressed this time in the costume of progress.
Breaking the glass ceiling was never enough – because the glass was only above us. The real prison had always been within us – built from centuries of conditioning, generations of self-doubt, and layers of learned silence.
Relearning Freedom
We, women, don’t just need space – we need ownership of the space.
We don’t just need equality – we need equity of voice.
We are not asking for special treatment.
We are asking for the seat at the table where the rules are made – because no decision about us should be made without us.
As women, we carry our share of concerns and responsibilities, just as men do. But the difference is that our capabilities are often questioned before they are seen.
It’s time to rewrite that story.
If the world truly believes in equality, then it must trust us to lead, not just follow.
It must allow us to define progress, not merely contribute to it.
The Real Revolution
The real revolution is not just breaking the ceiling – it’s breaking the belief that we are not enough.
It’s dismantling the internal voice that says, “You’re too much,” “You’re not ready,” or “You don’t belong.”
That voice is not ours – it was taught to us.
It was inherited from centuries of silenced women who were told to be small to survive.
But the time for survival has ended.
Now begins the time for sovereignty.
“When a woman learns to obey, she becomes the guard of every cage that holds her kind.” – Kunwar Surya
We are capable. We are ready. And we are not waiting for permission.
If true equality is the goal, then women must not just be part of the conversation – we must lead it.
Without us, humanity operates at half its potential.
We are half of its intellect, half of its compassion, and half of its progress.
To deny us our place is to deny the world its balance.
“The world reaches balance only when women contribute without boundary – as an equal half of creation.” – Kunwar Surya
We don’t want your pity, your approval, or your apology.
We want your partnership.
Because this world will never reach its full height until women stop living in borrowed spaces and start standing on their own.
Yes, we’ve broken the ceiling.
Now, we’re building the sky.
