Modem Woman – her Dreams, Aspirations and Role in Society In the story ‘Matchbox’ by Ashapurna Debi, there is a rift between Nomita and Ajit. It was caused when Ajit read Nomita’s mother’s letter secretly. Nomita is angry and in the argument that ensues, Nomita goes to the extent of attempting to burn herself. Somehow the quarrel is patched up and Nomita returns to her normal duties.
Things would have been different if this happened to a modem woman. In the past women were considered the lamps of the family. Most of the time, they stayed at home and did the household chores and looked after the children. The men were the lords of the family. Important things were decided by the men and women had hardly any say in such matters. Girls married the men who were chosen by their fathers. But all this is past hjstory. Today’s woman is more assertive and she will not tolerate a husband like Ajit.
Modem women think they are equal to men and they have a role to play even outside their homes. In the modern world, women are educated and they also want to work and earn money. They don’t want to depend on the goodwill of their husbands to get certain things they want.
In the home, modern wives expect their husbands to share household chores. In the past the wives would be busy in the kitchen, but the husbands would be reading newspapers or listening to the news.
Now, the wives also want to read the newspapers and listen to the news. They also want to be entertained and taken out for meals outside and also an occasional trip to attractive places.
Modern women also want their share in politics. They are no more satisfied to be led by men. They think they too have the capacity for leadership. Women like Golda Meir (Israel), Mrs. Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka), Margaret Thatcher (England) and Indira Gandhi of India have shown that women can be even better leaders than men. Today we have Theresa May as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Merkel as the President of Germany. It was only because of some bad luck Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the USA. Otherwise we would have a woman at the helm of affairs in the richest and most powerful nation in the world.
