Confessions of a girl in a Dual Role: Guest Post

Independent girls have a coveted life.

"You are a free bird"

"You have lesser or no restrictions"

"You have freedom to go anywhere you want"

Yes, I do have the freedom to go where ever I want. That also means,  I am drawing the money from the ATM, picking up the ironed cloths, buying medicines for my father. Which means, I’m playing a role of a son, right? 

Wrong. I am expected to take my mother to market on every weekly off and my family on mini vacations. On weekdays, I work 9 to 6, unlike a son, I don't get a hot cup of tea served when I get home. I make my own tea and serve it to my parents too.  

When a relative drops by, I am expected to get samosas like a son and also serve them graciously like a daughter. I am expected to remain under veils as a daughter and yet be out-spoken like a son. While grocery shopping, I am expected to carry loads and I also expected to stay delicate in certain situations. I am expected to be pretty like a daughter and I am expected to be tough like a son.

I am a working woman, with a checklist always on my mind - task to complete at work, plus things to pick up on my way back home, and chores to finish when I get home.  Sometimes I barely get time for myself: to write a blogs or bake cup cakes. You will never hear a daughter or a son in dual-role ever complain. It's actually no big deal for us. Anything I do for my parents will always fall short before what they have done for me. Indeed, sometimes you feel  like you are not appreciated. But its also true that sometimes your parents might not say it but there is lots of love and respect in their hearts for what you do.

Image source: Clem Onojeghuo

- Nida Shaikh

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   Nidha is a dreamer, and sees the world with a creative angle. When she is not spilling her thoughts on papers, she is working as HR for an educational institute.