Zanī Barā-yi Khudash: Persian 1403

“A woman is a woman’s worst enemy.” We have all been told this so often that perhaps we now believe it to be true. Have we ever wondered why we have been fed such stories? Maybe this was done to ensure that women will always be at loggerheads with each other and will be fighting with each other instead of uniting and fighting the injustices meted out to them by this patriarchal society! It is time that we negate the narrative. Sheetal had always been a caring daughter, a dutiful daughter-in-law and an obedient wife. She always did as was expected from her while suppressing her own choices and desires and in the process, sacrificing her dreams. With time though, things began to change. From a timid woman, she metamorphoses into a woman who has a mind and loves to follow her heart. Well, at least sometimes, if not always. She finds her path to happiness by rhyming lines or cracking jokes in her mind. She teaches herself to be happy in her small world. This is till the day she discovers that her husband is having an affair! Even though she is heartbroken, she tries to brush her knowledge of the affair under the carpet for the sake of her children and for fear of putting her marriage in jeopardy. However, she has no choice when her husband declares that he will be moving out of their home as he is in love with someone else. Sheetal knows that once he moves out of their house, he will soon move out of their lives too. She doesn't want her sons to grow up without a father. So, much against her husband’s wishes, she takes the very bold decision of moving out of their home herself, leaving her husband behind to take care of their sons. At an age when there should have been stability in her life, she finds herself struggling to deal with the stresses in her personal life on the one hand and having to build her career on the other. Nevertheless, she starts from scratch and builds her life again - this time not as someone’s wife or daughter or mother, but as a Woman. She discovers a strength within herself that she never knew existed. She starts following her passion and realizes for the first time in her life, what living free from shackles means. With time, she heals again and also meets another man who is years younger than her but loves her unconditionally. Her children too, accept the new man in her life. Life begins to look much better. It is then that life brings her to a crossroads again. This time she has to choose between listening to her heart or listening to her mind; She has to choose between her family’s happiness or her conscience. What is that decision which is again about to rock her boat? And more importantly, what will she decide?