Indeed these are mere examples but have you noticed one thing? The examples are all of men. The word bravery has, through the ages, been traditionally perceived to be a male bastion.
Now, the reason for this may be myriad but there are some blatant reasons which have led to this fact (rather myth) almost translating to rather universal lore. Incidentally, the writers of history, throughout time have been male, until very recently in the past. This is because it was felt that women did not need an education and consequently we had no female point of view on the question of bravery. Homer, Ved Vyas, Shakespeare...the list goes on and seldom have women been given a voice before the past two centuries.
Yet, there have been exceptions and these exceptions remained just that: Exceptions. They never became the rule.
Let us look at some profound examples of women's bravery. Child birth is one such example and most men shall fail to even comprehend the kind of excruating pain that a woman has to bear to bring new life into this planet.
When it comes to specific instances of a woman's bravery, even in India we do have some definite inspirations from history. For instance the erstwhile Rani of Jhansi, was an exemplary fighter who had demonstrated outstanding bravery in all aspects of warfare strategy and in the actual battleground.
However, here we must pause and ask- Does bravery reflect itself only in war? In battles? In fights? These are just examples of brute strength, of physical prowess which I would not call brave. True bravery goes beyond that. True bravery is bravery of the heart and this is where we falter, because we always thought that to be brave was to fight!
Yes, to be brave is to fight, but not just physical brawls which we call fights. True bravery requires great strength of the heart, of the will and of the soul. Taking care of the family seems an easy task, it seems that helping children grow up from toddlers to boys and girls, to adolescents, to finally become adults, are easy fare. I tend to disagree. Have you seen mothers waking up all through the night to nurse their children who are ill? Have you seen the labour with which a meal of love is cooked at home which we take for granted? What has transpired is that the women in our lives give. They give us everything without bringing to the fore that they had been working. They do not let us know that or even catch a whiff of their labour.
There is a saying that 'When you do an act of kindness, do not let the left hand know what the right hand is giving'. I often see the reverse of this manifesting rampantly in social media where people often tom-tom acts of kindness blatantly and often albeit shame. People actually capture (on video or through photograph) themselves giving money and food to beggars and the homeless. They make videos of their kindness, of their so called benevolence! Is it not wrong that you bring to the picture the homeless, scantily clothed person you just helped to earn brownie points, in the picture? Would it not have been more kind and dignified to not show the world that you were doing an act of kindness? But alas publicity is the buzzword.
If we were to look around, we would see acts of what true bravery really means. A lady taking her young child to school and waiting till the late afternoon to bring her child back is inconspicuously brave. Another one who had been saving up coins to buy a dream sari and instead spent it on her husband's medication (when the need arose) and the lady who cooks five meals a day for her family without a complain – well they truly define the real paradigm of bravery. Often women who work in high profile places become a subject of gossip and rumour, which they bravely navigate through- this is definitely brave.
Have you noticed the brave new generation of girls who wear the uniform of cops nowadays? You will see women police officers, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers- all living dual lives. For while they are professionally dispensing their duties as bravely and dexterously as men in their homes they are gentle and nurturing caregivers, which in itself entails a great deal of bravery.
So isn't it time that we gave women their due? And for this to happen let us redefine bravery and what it means to be brave. Gentleness and empathy, sacrifice and dedication against all odds and challenges is brave too and let us never forget this.
Dr Arunav Barua.
The writer is an assistant professor in NERIM Group of Institutions. He is a published poet who has 5 books of verse available in platforms like Amazon.
Also Read: Vaastu Tips for the Temple in your Home
Also Watch: