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We live in a world where there is an increased need to liberate ourselves and do things out of love and not perceived obligations.

I can’t say a lot of confidence about other societies, but the one I stem from, essentially tame and limits women to their roles. Forming expectations and associating a fixed set of obligations to them. A girl is born a daughter, sister, turn into a wife, mother, daughter in law, mother in law, grandmother and so on.

All role confine a females identity. By way of proudly introducing these roles, not only do we squeeze and cut out a woman to fit into these roles, we implicitly then expect them to behave a certain way. And sometimes it gets tough. It often overshadows a woman’s personality which often unveils itself in depression, bitter relationships and complicated negativity towards the spouse.

I was brought up intensely as a human than as anything else. It helped me realize the passion, enthusiasm, and power involved in doing things out of love and not merely out of obligation. It helped me breathe, live and serve as a human and not as out of any designated role.

I suppose liberating a woman and raising a human to love and live out of love is extremely important. I only realized so after getting married whereby, said and unsaid expectations of beyond immediate families become evident. “Oh, you are married now, do you live with your in-laws? Must be difficult no?”, “Oh, now you have a baby, stay home yes'”, “Oh, Zainab is so lucky that she has an educated mother”…

All this somehow limits a woman’s identity. I am here, sitting at home, choosing to be a stay-at-home wife and a mom at the moment for my reasons. Not out of obligation.

We have a choice as humans and most importantly as women. As most specifically as South Asian Muslim Women perceived through a certain lens by our society. A choice to master the power of practicing love and actions out of love and for the sake of love. Not out of obligation. Don’t be a good daughter, sister, wife, mother, daughter in law and so forth only because you are expected to be so. Don’t just sit and robotically fulfill expectations set upon you by the world.

Master the power of choice and practice actions out of love. Don’t compromise and volunteer for anything in a relationship or in life because you’re obligated to do so. Do so out of love. In fact, liberate yourself from the delusion of obligation and do it purely out of love.

To all the women rejecting self-contained shackles of victimization, struggling and tiptoeing around patriarchy while teaching, practicing and spreading nothing but Love and growing wise with the daily struggles of life. Lots of love to you. You are and you have what has inspired me to write this today.