We hear a lot about nationals of UAE. Though some of us have been staying in UAE we seldom get a chance to be with them and to talk to them and know more about them. I am not sure of how it was for others. But for me it was like that. I had never directly interacted with a “local” of UAE. At my new workplace I meet up with the locals daily. Local women to be precise. And they are not as we think and imagine. Very down to earth and very friendly and making me feel very much at home. We got to discuss our personal lives with each other. And that’s when I realized, no matter where we come from or how we are brought up, and no matter to which culture we belong, end of the day girls are girls and women are women. There is nothing beyond that and there is nothing before that. The way we think, the way we adapt and adjust, the way we accept and expect are all the same. If not entirely the same, very similar would be the right word.

A few weeks back, there was an anonymous comment on my blog that I need to delete my blog entries because I would otherwise become a role model for many who is going through similar things that I had gone through. At first, I wanted to delete it off, but then I felt that a good writer is he who can take up the criticisms positively. So, I kept it right there. Then I wanted to reply to it. But time didn’t permit me and I got busy with the little things in my life. Sorry to you, O Anonymous Commenter for not replying to your precious comment. No, I am not sarcastic here. You are someone great because you made me think about my blog for two-three nights continuously. And thanks to you!

If I am becoming a role model then definitely it’s a thing of great pride for me. But as you said, yes! I don’t want to be a negative role model for anyone especially young girls and women. But definitely I would say here, that I never wrote that blog to impress anyone or to inspire anyone. I got into blogging with a lot of other reasons in my mind. But when I thought of what should my first entry, I wanted it to be about something that I have endured personally.

Well, going away from that, I happened to read “The Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. I think the book went on with my current mood. Beautifully written. It made me wonder not just about Afghanistan, but about those civilians in the war zones all around the world. How tough their life might be. In our day to day life, we do hear a lot about wars and crime. But definitely, we don’t hear anything about the actually misery, we just hear what the leaders say.

Coming back to book, there are many such Maryams and Lailas not just in Afghanistan but around the world. There are bad men like Rasheed and Jalil. And there are good men too, like the Tariqs and the Babi. Yeah, there are good and bad around the world. And God makes us meet both good and bad people to see how we act and react.