More Than A Pretty Picture

On Twitter recently a follower responded to my declaration of 300 followers with a statement that I had been able to attain this number because of my pretty display picture! “The advantage of being a Woman!”

An interesting and humorous dialogue followed with obviously no real conclusion. His logic however did get me to think about it and I wondered how many people actually understood me or believed in my cause. So this article is no sarcasm to his point but I'm grateful for the inspiration he provided.

Therefore, I think it’s important that my followers take a moment and have a look at my ‘advantageous life’ to decide realistically if they made an error of judgement. Thank Twitter for the ‘Unfollow’ button.

In life, I am a daughter, sister, wife and mother…

As a Daughter

My world is infinitely silent in the absence of my mother who passed away quite suddenly having being diagnosed with Lung Cancer some seven years back. I don’t enjoy the regular calls of a worried mum for her daughter and there are no instinctive warnings to keep me away from danger. Yes, the woman with the selfless love and prayers connects only through my imagination.

That leaves me with my father. He lives in Lahore Pakistan and is a retired Aeronautical Engineer. He served both PIA and Emirates Airline and met with great honours on the way. 

There is a huge crater in my heart from the day I left him alone in his home without his companion. That fear of him being alone and more than that lonely pushes me back to him cancelling all desires to spend our holidays discovering new places. He fills up the refrigerator on hearing about our plans to visit and puts the camera on charge to capture every possible moment! I look forward to being with him and sharing his thoughts.

As a Sister

I have two brothers and a sister. Being third in line, I’m always seeking their attention! They treat me like a child and enjoy my humour and childish demeanour. I share Sharjah with my elder brother whilst the other two are in Pakistan.

I often share my feelings with my siblings and blog about shared memories as well. I’m close to my sister as she is the eldest and my elder brother who has a fantastic sense of humour and is by all means an adventurer.

My younger brother who is the youngest is my best friend. He holds all my secrets! We spent the most number of years together and he has the credit of bashing up a boy for troubling me! So, you have been warned.

As a Wife

I’m a very demanding, noisy and reactive wife! Okay before you round up any conclusions, I’m demanding on equal respect, time and space. Noisy with my affection, gestures and… well complaints! I call myself a reactive wife because I find it really hard to keep my opinions to myself.

We had a love marriage and practically jumped into a well! We are strugglers focusing on the finer moments of life to keep us going believing in each other’s love.

I married him for his eyes! And later discovered that he had actually married me for my nose! So, there you go! Married with the right reasons!

As a Mother

To this day, I can envision my eldest son’s eyes that looked at me while he was placed onto me right after being born! They were innocent, vulnerable and magnetic eyes! The same eyes searched me for an answer when I left his hand on his first day at Kindergarten! He holds my heart and his pain and joys are always doubled for me.

My middle son is an artist. He makes me proud and I enjoy his rapid fire rounds on “Tell me Why?” He questions all our moral values and refuses to accept anything that does not appeal to his senses. As a mom, I require the most amount of patience with him and he too cashes on his individualism.

The youngest is a missile. You will find him loitering in any Mall singing aloud, “Saada Haq aithey Rakh” or “Chama Chamara, in his language which is actually the song ‘Lucifer’! My day is spent in his company and he can melt my heart in the most furious moments with his candid remarks. He is just about 3.

This is the Woman that is acceptably at an advantage. I am grateful to Allah for blessing me with not just a life but people who are my family and enrich that life. The reason I have shared this aspect of my life with you is to help you see as to what do I take on as an 'Advantage'.

To me however, these are all ‘Adopted Roles’ that have their influences on my personality.


However, there is a woman inside me who desires a ‘Self-Identity’. When I log on to Twitter, I don’t wish to be viewed as a daughter, sister, wife or mother. I am an individual with a goal in my life. I am an Educationist, a Teacher who wishes to enlighten as many lives as possible through my blogs and my thoughts.

I’m not at all trying to glorify my individuality in comparison to my roles above, but People who fail to see me as an individual with the capacity to think beyond relationships should consider the ‘Unfollow’ button.

The advantages of being a woman are plentiful. But her greatest disadvantage lies in being tagged. You need to look beyond the pretty picture!