Selective Feminism

I have stumbled and fallen and lost my way. But now I am here, and I stand to defend the right for South Asian women to be granted proper mental health resources. In speaking out for this cause, I must remind myself, however, to not forget about those before me who were forced to remain silent in fear or guilt. Currently, there is a better reception to mental health resources, and many of us have developed into women passionate to use our voices and make an impact. Educate our communities that having a mental illness is not “insanity” and taking a nap won’t cure depression. We are able to now have conversations that burnout and perfectionism should not be something our culture values, as it leaves us with false senses of temporary satisfaction. To our mothers and aunties who we have felt were contributing to the stigma, we MUST remember their struggle and access to care. They were suffering silently because the perceptions then were not in their favor. So it’s not fair for us to ignore their struggles and only focus on moving forward. We need to remember them every day in our cause.

“Each snowflake was a sigh heard by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. All the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women suffer.”-Khaled Hosseini