Grace Massoud wrote this article in MTV Website:

Why are we still made to feel like second-class citizens? Why do we need a day to celebrate women? This is not to diminish what magnificent women have accomplished over the years to secure our basic human rights, and shed light on vital matters, that is to say the right to vote, equal pay, gender equality, reproductive rights, violence and abuse against women. And the list goes on.  

We don’t need a reminder, a special commemorative occasion that many a time we were made to feel lesser than men especially in Lebanon’s patriarchal society. These incidents and their repercussions are forever carved in our psyche. Those of us lucky enough to come out the other side empowered and enlightened live to tell the tale of how we got the short end of the stick due to the injustices imposed upon us. Some women weren’t as blessed to break off the shackles of the Arab societal complications and delusions. We feel bad for them and witness their sad displays of imbalance, shallowness and silliness on a daily basis.  

But I digress. Every day women should be proud of themselves for trying and fighting to be all they can be. I see all these incredible ladies work their butts off at a 9 to 5, go home to take care of their kids and husbands, all the while fighting for dear life to stay fit and desirable and find a shred of time during the day to take care of themselves. How do they do it? Seriously, someone explain it to me because I sure as hell don’t get it.  

As a single gal, life gets overwhelming sometimes with just me myself and I to worry about. I can’t begin to fathom the chaos of having another soul to care for and a household to uphold.  

The journey to self-fulfillment and career accomplishment is pretty tough on its own I’ll tell you that. I admire women who battle on the daily to prove themselves in a male-dominated Lebanon, to shatter stereotypes that a woman who takes care of her looks and takes pride in her appearance must be an airhead and doesn’t have anything else going for her. It is doubly tough to be a woman in what is already a plagued and sick society. We’re expected to be so many things at once, a sinner and a saint, bold yet yielding, a homemaker and a working girl, a cook and a cleaning lady, a loving mother and a devoted wife, a caring daughter, a ferocious leader and a delicate damsel in distress, all those and I’m omitting something I’m sure. Talk about unrealistic and exhausting expectations. Can you honestly say that there are as many outrageous demands from a man? His duties are to have a stable career and provide for his family, be a safe haven for his loved ones, a backbone and a strong virile figure. All very significant and vital roles to be played in the family nook. Nonetheless, you catch my drift. Women are out of this world, superheroes, and don’t let anyone tell you any different.