Feminism, Freedom and the Invisible Cage

A bird born in a cage may not recognise the bars. It may stretch its wings, hopping from one perch to another, all the while believing it is free. But what if the cage opens and it still does not fly? What if it does not know how to?

Women have been and are subject to unrelenting gender roles, legally and socially trapped within domestic life. Feminism shattered many of these bars. But has it truly set women free, or has it created a society where expectations persist, but under the guise of choice?

The illusion of an open door

Historically, oppression was apparent and absolute – a cage with bars noticeable to anyone who looked. Women were systematically rejected from having access to education and the right to vote, let alone political representation and legal autonomy, with their existence confined to roles created and dictated by society.

For a woman, marriage was a duty; a means for survival that often, if not all the time, determined her financial and social worth. Her ability to obey, to serve her husband and nurture her children ultimately decided her value; her ambition, intellect or agency went unrecognised.

Even in mythology, Draupadi – known for her intellect and fierce curiosity – was denied the right to shape her own fate. Though she fulfilled her duties as a wife, she was still treated as a possession, gambled away in a game of dice. Her brilliance was acknowledged, but never enough to grant her control.

Success, but at what cost?

Society no longer declares, ‘you cannot’; instead, with the advent of feminism, it now whispers, ‘you must’. Women today are told they are "free to work"; however, they must excel professionally while also juggling domestic responsibilities, a burden still disproportionately theirs.

They are "free to be ambitious", yet must constantly prove their worth in structures never built for them. Women who negotiate salaries are labelled "demanding", while men doing the same are seen as "assertive". Even self-expression comes with conditions – they may speak their minds, but only if they are not "too much" or "too little".

These double standards extend not only into a woman's professional life, but her personal life as well. When a woman takes care of her children, it is expected – when a man does the same, he is praised for ‘helping’. A mother’s care is duty; a father’s involvement is celebrated. When a woman cooks, it is routine; a man does, it becomes art. The same tasks, the same labour, yet one is obligation and the other is talent.

This is not freedom. It is a subtler, more deceptive form of confinement. Women enforce the expectations upon themselves, acknowledging and silently agreeing with them.

We are told we can have it all. But having it all comes with the hushed expectation of doing it all. A modern woman must achieve success while staying graceful and composed, effortlessly balancing her personal and professional life to prove her worth in a system that was designed for her to fail in.

Existing without explanation

The most dangerous cage is not built of laws or traditions – it is built within the mind.

A woman raised in limitation may unconsciously become her own gatekeeper, carrying the load of expectations even when no one enforces them. She feels guilt for choosing her career over family, even when it is her passion. She fears being “too much” – too loud, too bold, too ambitious – because being feminine means being delicate.

Feminism, which was about giving choices, now comes with its own set of rules, questioning whether certain actions – wearing makeup, being a homemaker, embracing true femininity and being a “girls' girl” – are truly feminist.

If true liberation means women should not have to justify their decisions, why must every choice still feel like a test?

This paradox is not new. Mythology, like history, reflects how women have escaped one cage only to be placed into another. Sita, despite proving her loyalty to Ram once, was asked to prove it again, and was ultimately cast away for no fault of her own.

Even today, women must repeatedly prove what should already be self-evident: their capability, their integrity, their right to exist without justification.

Beyond the cage, beyond the question

Society claims to have handed women the key to their freedom, but it still watches closely, ensuring they use it the "right" way. She may step out of a cage, only to find herself in another built not by metal bars, but by silent judgement and ridiculous expectations.

Women are allowed success as long as they continually prove that they are worthy or deserving of it. Women may choose to embrace family life, provided they defend that choice against those who see it as submission.

If every choice demands explanation, is it truly a choice? If every step forward is met with doubt, is it truly freedom?

A woman should not have to prove, to plead, to earn the right to exist.

Yet the world still asks – to be less, to be more, to be everything, yet never enough – time and again, until it drowns her in the ocean of expectations.

When will silence be enough? When will she simply be? When will she just breathe?

Janshee Patel is a class 10 student.

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