There was a time when women had no voice.

No voting. No education. Not even a choice in what to wear, eat, or whom to marry.

People say the world has changed now.

But for Aliya, it hadn’t.

She once walked in heels echoing through glass-walled corridors as Executive Manager of a reputed firm, with tight schedules, voice confident, and her goals clear. Closing deals and signing paychecks. But that life ended the day she said, “I do.”

She heard how marriage adds more meaning to life. Blessing of a happily married family. But its meaning was destroyed just the next day of the wedding, when her mother in law said, “You don’t need to work now. My son earns well."

" It took me years to reach that position...I built my career from scratch..." Aliya complained.

" And now build this home. That’s enough.”

The tone of her mother-in-law ended all further

arguments.

Months passed. Aliya learned to cook dishes she never liked, smiled when she didn’t want to, wore what pleased them, not her. She wasn't Aliya anymore. She faded into the shadow of a daughter-in-law, her own self lost behind duty and expectations.

Her parents stayed quiet, fearing divorce and societal judgement.

Still, there was hope in her eyes that maybe, one day, they would let her be herself again. The Aliya she once was. But that day never came.

She even tried to apply for remote jobs secretly. When her husband found out, he laughed saying, “Aliya, why are you so restless? Stop trying to prove something. Enjoy life.”

"Enjoy? Watching others live their dreams while mine is collecting dust?" Aliya argued in her thoughts, controlling her anger.

One afternoon, while washing dishes, a neighbour's cry reached her ears. A teenage newly married bride was being slapped for not folding clothes properly.

Aliya froze.

It mirrored her own past weeks, filled with taunts, blame, and silent tears over a slightly burnt roti.

That night, Aliya couldn’t sleep. She sat in front of her laptop, typing, not just about her life, but also the life she wished for. A caged dream that wrote her freedom.

The story was about an unmarried woman fighting for women crushed under rituals and expectations. She was speaking on a global platform. She found herself in that character.

The words poured like a river. A want of justice in real life.

" Are you sure that we are empowering women? Just by education? What about the lives of those who were a top graded surgeon, a lawyer, a singer, a dancer but stopped in the name of marriage and not allowed by in-laws. She knows her limits. She knows what's best for her. Yet they were blamed for what she never did. There are some families who restrict their women so much that their life can be compared to hell…”

Aliya typed the ending and sent the draft anonymously to an online platform supporting women's voices.

She slept in the morning at 4 AM. It was the most peaceful sleep she ever had.

Days passed. Weeks gone by.

She even forgot, she posted something a month ago.

It was afternoon when Aliya was making paneer pulao when she heard the knock.

Opening the door, she saw her friend Trisha and a woman in late 40s.

" Trisha, what are you doing here? "

" You wrote this didn't you? " Trisha asked, passing the book published offline with the same pen name as Aliya's.

" Who published this? " Aliya asked.

" We did, Mam. We are from Alex's foundation, an International NGO. You posted this story on our platform and we published it offline in search of you. Your friend contacted us for fraud but our intention was not wrong. "

" Publishing the book is not my dream. It was to awaken those women who stopped being herself for the sake of some strangers. " Aliya marked her statement.

" Paneer is burnt! Where the hell are you, Aliya? I told you not to walk away when cooking..." Aliya heard her mother-in-law scolding from the kitchen.

" Your story moved thousands. We'd like you to speak at our upcoming event.”

Her mother-in-law who walked to them, scoffed.

“She doesn’t even go out without asking us.” But Aliya’s voice didn’t tremble.

“I will go.”

" What did you say? " Her mother in law shouted.

" You heard it right. I'll go to the event. "

" You are the worst daughter in law one could get. "

" Yes. True. I don't deserve to live here. " Saying that, Aliya walked out of the house. It was 'now or never' moment for her.

Weeks later, Aliya stood on a stage with a mic in her hand. The audience is silent, waiting.

She looked into the crowd and said:

“They tried to cage us in names, wife, daughter-in-law, obedient woman. They told us we can't. But we are more. We are minds. We are fire. We are stories that will no longer go unwritten.”

For the first time in years, Aliya felt the weight of expectation lift off. She became the rebel in her own story, fearless and unbound.

The end.