Moment a child is born, the mother is also born

Moment a child is born, the mother is also born and it is an honor which is not as easy to achieve and retain as it seems. A woman in every role, whether it is that of a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister or a friend, is a lot of love, affection, skill and vigor put together. There is no creature in the world as fragile yet powerful, as sensitive yet tolerable and as gentle yet resolute as a woman.

However, there is little in history about women that is remarkable. Women in the past were mostly subjected to abuses and were treated unfairly. In olden days, women had no rights and no social standing. Those were the days when the birth of a daughter was considered unfortunate, when sisters were mere symbols of honor, when mothers were no more than slaves.

Even though some societies are still living in those times and a fraction of our society belongs to that very group, the advent of different religions brought forward a radical change in the way girls and women were treated. As these religions developed, women’s position in the world exalted and they were given proper rights and were treated with respect and kindness.

In present times, on the eighth day of March every year, the world celebrates women, womanhood, gender equality and women’s rights. The International Women’s Day not only honors women all over the world but also pays tribute to all the contributions that women have made to make this world a better place — the biggest and most fundamental being the population.

Come to think of it, there is a reason why we call our planet ‘Mother Earth’. It is because if it wasn’t for women, there would be no mothers, and if it wasn’t for mothers, none of us would be here at all. The story that unfolds from the moment a little girl opens her eyes in the world for the very first time, to the moment she gives birth to another baby girl, is a fascinating one. It is this story that has been unfolding since life began on earth, and will keep on unfolding till the very end.

On her way to womanhood, every newborn baby girl goes through many stages in life. From early childhood, it’s a journey filled with innocence and intrigue, dreams and desires, despairs and hopes. On her way to womanhood, she discovers herself and becomes aware of the world around her. While playing with her dolls, little does she realize that nature has given her immense strength and flexibility to meet every challenge that life sends her way.

There are as many as seven important stages in a woman’s life, the first when she is born, the second when she begins to walk, the third when she embarks on the path of learning, the fourth when she begins to mature and becomes aware of her surroundings, the fifth when she turns into a strong young woman ready to change the world, developing feelings she never thought she’ll have, the sixth when she ties the nuptial knot and leaves home to become a part of her future family and lastly, the seventh when she becomes a mother, completing the cycle of womanhood and giving birth to another baby girl.

The childhood of a baby girl is mostly spent playing with dolls. She is a homemaker from the start as she makes homes for her toys and spends hours adorning them. Like other toddlers, she is inquisitive about the things happening around her, and she lets her curiousness out by asking questions, in whatever language she can muster at that time.

But not every baby girl gets to play with a doll, or gets to learn or go to school. The idea of girls going to school is still not very popular among parents in certain parts of our society. A girl in her pre-teens is still thought better off helping her mother with the daily chores and taking care of her younger siblings instead of wasting time getting education that she won’t need anyway.

However, the importance of women’s education is largely being recognized at all levels of society and things are changing fast and for the better. More and more girls are now being enrolled in schools so that they can provide a better future for their children.

As a little girl steps from stage two to stage three and sets foot in a school, a wonderful journey of learning begins. Instead of dolls, she now plays with alphabets, words and numbers. She learns the names of things around her. A whole new world of knowledge unfolds before her. Dolls don’t vanish from her life altogether, but rather take the shape of princesses in fairy tales and girlish cartoons. A new stage of her life beacons.

By the time she finishes school, another milestone in a girl’s life approaches. She is more aware of things around her. She tries to understand and grasp the meaning of relationships, family ties and friendships. She also experiences a new kind of self-awareness; staring in the mirror for eternity, the desire to look beautiful, getting upset if the complexion looks pale, and a fondness of things that embellish her. The changes in her give rise to a number of questions that are usually answered by other women around her.

If a girl makes it to college, she is presented with an opportunity to build on the knowledge she gained in her school. Specialized education gives her a chance to fulfill her career-oriented dreams. Stage five is perhaps the most significant milestone in a girl’s life as it determines her ability to take on the challenges life would throw at her. And as she goes through the next few stages, and starts her new life with her new family, education helps her become a better person, a better wife and, most significantly, a better mother in ways more than one.

But out of all the stages that a girl goes through to become a woman, the last and final stage — the seventh stage — is by far the most esteemed and respectable. It is when she turns into a mother.

The moment a child is born, a mother is also born and it is an honor that is not as easy to achieve as it seems. When a woman turns into a mother, she is never really alone in her thoughts, because a mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. There is a reason why there is heaven under a mother’s feet; it is because she not only gives birth to life, but also raises it, feeds it, loves it, pampers and nurtures it, educates it and makes it responsible enough to continue the cycle of life. A mother is also the first teacher of faith and proper conduct.

Today, women are playing an essential role in the world. They have not only conquered this world but have touched the skies and reached outer space too. Women, indeed, in the truest, purest sense of the concept, are the architects of our society, the mothers of the world, and for this we ought to salute them, for no other creature on the face of this earth is capable of that!