Hurdles a woman should overcome

We talk a lot about inclusiveness and teaching our sons to be better human beings in this hopelessly male-centric world of ours. No doubt we must do it, but we must also talk about the mental hurdles women should overcome if we are ever to even dream about an equal society. These hurdles grow with them and end up as a gigantic tree extremely difficult to be axed try as you may. Susan, my classmate, could never walk alone in that friendly co-educational college campus of ours. Whenever she wanted to go to the library, canteen or even restroom, she would ask one of her girl classmates to accompany her. All these places were just a stone’s throw from our classroom, but she never could muster courage enough to walk alone. This was of course 40 years ago, but I found it very odd that a girl should behave like that even then. If a woman is not at peace with the freedom she has, how can she ever be free or equal in this patriarchal world?