We have all been through this phase where we hated being women. Some of us unfortunately still do. Being a woman was, and still is, a very tough job.

Being a woman means high expectations. Being a woman means to always be calm and smiling, even if you had a bad day. It means you have to obey with no questions. It means nothing but a sexual object. It means assuming you are good at some things and bad at others because of your gender. It means wanting to be married and have children. I can go on all day, but I will stop here.

Hating being a woman is normal. It’s not a good thing, but it’s normal. It’s a journey to start loving yourself and appreciate who you really are. It’s not easy. Nothing is. But it’s worth it. Being a woman is a good enough reason to love yourself. You might think to yourself, why? Or how? Us women had to fight for our rights, get shit done, stand for ourselves and going through hell is what made us stronger and superior. All this endless oppression, misogyny, abuse, shaming and discrimination.

Yet, we are still here fighting and thriving. Yes, we have to deal with a hell of nonsense just because we were built a certain way. But it shouldn’t define us. We were born with patience and with so much power. There’s absolutely nothing that we can’t do. We heal and care for others selflessly. Take in pain silently and give back smile and happiness. Who else can boast of this?

Realizing that being a woman, to me, was a blessing and a curse at the same time, but mostly a blessing. Being a strong, independent woman, and that’s never going to change. Women deal with a lot of stuff on an everyday basis, but rather than tearing us down, it just makes us stronger. We know how to overcome adversity, and we do it well. We are a force together. A woman on her own is the epitome of ‘strong’ but surrounded by other women she is a ‘force.’ Just look at what we did in 1956 (National Women’s Day). We are lucky that we can encourage long-lasting and intimate relationships with other women who will always be there to support us.

We’ve come a long way. And I think that’s more than enough to love yourself as a woman.