We are all fighting the same battle.

 We are all fighting the same battle, but in different roles and at different levels.

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The Maid fights against domestic abuse every day, which is sadly prevalent in every Basti of India.

The diplomat's wife feels like a bird in a golden cage for being forced to live in a foreign country with her husband. Rich women moving in big cars are not always enjoying that luxury. Behind the Dolce and Gabbana shades are not the happy eyes always.

The lower middle-class girl gets rejected by multiple suitors for her father's inability to give a motorbike in the dowry. Even the most useless BOY of any village in India will demand a bike in dowry.

Competent women are forced to chop their wings and made to stay at home for family honour. The most brilliant women are demeaned for the colour of their skin and the shape of their bodies.

Women from a certain segment are conditioned to go out of the house only if they oblige to cover themselves in a burqa. The lady is allowed to send her daughters to school in burqa till the men decide to get their daughters married to men of any age.

Wives of the richest homes get limited monthly allowance, they are always kept in the dark about family finances. They are usually the first victims of depression as everything around them is controlled.

Men decide what to cook and how much to eat in many homes, and the men save money for alcohol and other vices.

Women are beaten black and blue to appease other members of the family, the men in many homes use this technique to display their machismo.

In some homes, it is imperceptible torture, women are not treated as equals despite their academic background or are never made a part of the family dialogue to silently show them their place. In many parts of the country, women are sold in the market by the men of their homes to fulfil their appetites.

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These are daily struggles for most of us.

Women from all sections of society are opposing a different category of male dominance and patriarchy. From both ends of the spectrum, it is a laudable resistance.

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Rather than supporting each other, we tend to engage in gossip and criticism, which only serves to diminish and undermine one another. We often comment "She is rich, what problems can she have"

or she is a working woman, with total financial freedom"

"She is an officer's, politician's wife, all fun" or She has no responsibilities as she has a good mother in law"

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Being rich and staying at home does not make one feel any better than the one who is going out every day to make ends meet.

The one living in the AC rooms at the mercy of their husband's benevolence is equally pained as a mother working hard to pay her child's school fees.

Our struggles are identical but circumstances may be different.

Some space, respect and an acknowledgement of equality are all we are asking for.

Let us support every victim of discrimination and cheer them on in their battle for self-respect and equal rights.

We should all be together and accept that nobody's fight is less than another's. Do not demean fellow women if your struggles are not in sync with hers.

Stand in support and solidarity of people in your surroundings, be empathetic, listen to their stories and reassure them that they are not alone.

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We are all fighting the same battle, but in different roles and at different levels.