What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear or read this word 'Maa' or how would you describe her in a single word? A string of thoughts must be started occurring in your mind to find a most appropriate word to define her. For some, she is a symbol of love and strength, for others, she is a symbol of care, unity or support. For me, she is a warrior and a peerless human being I have ever met.
She not only loves, cares and supports a family but also unites it. She does not allow her married children to live in separate homes( your experience may vary)and makes sure they spend their lives before her eyes. But how does she unite a family? After all , 'unity' is the most difficult thing which our all political leaders have failed to achieve for Pakistan and its people to get them out of this logjam. Here is the answer. She does it with unrequited love, unconditional care, unrivalled support and most important by way of self-denial.
Every year, we celebrate motherhood in the world on second Sunday in May. I would be delighted to apprise the readers on when and why the world started commemorating Mother's Day and who was the founder of it. The world first celebrated this tradition in the 20th century in the United States when Anna Jarvis, an activist, lost her mother. Her mother thought there must be a day for the mothers to be marked once in a year. It was also the desire of her mother to have an official holiday regarding mothers contribution and their role in society. So, Anna Jarvis struggled and campaigned for it to fulfill her mother's desire which came true after her death.
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis died(Anna Jarvis's mother) on the second Sunday in May in 1905. Almost after nine years, In 1914,President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official national holiday. Soon after some time, the world realised the importance of mothers and then every country gradually started jumping on the bandwagon.
I have mentioned her above a warrior since she has to go through many hardships of life. Here are a few of them. From antenatal care to bearing travails of giving birth, from changing diapers to sleeping with a baby's cuddled on in the middle of the cold nights to spending nuit blanche, from kneading flour to cooking in the hot summer, from washing clothes to pressing them, from waiting on tables to washing dishes and plates, from dusting to cleaning floor, from sending children to school to making lunch and later in life from selling her jewellery off to supporting her children education at higher levels and also has to balance her life with her husband. She works tirelessly to carry out her responsibilities and truly becomes the epitome of hard work. Life is never easy or a bed of roses for her.
According to the latest statistics, the maternal mortality ratio(MMR) in Pakistan has diminished from 278 deaths to 186 per 100,000 live births. The federal and provincial governments want to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. This is a good gesture. The government must also improve the health care system in Pakistan to prevent and reduce the mortality rate even further. There is also lack of awareness on what kind of diet should be adopted before birth to make this process streamline to avoid deaths during giving births.
Life is never easy for anyone. For some unlettered mothers, it is even more worse because they have to endure abusive relationships. They have to face domestic violence just because their dominant consorts are running household expenditures. They go through mental and physical pain and had to live with them just because of their children. Some commit suicides when depression overwhelmed them which go unreported while others continue their lives silently. Education is the main factor behind such strained relationships. When a mother is educated, she has countless opportunities to get a good job, lives an independent life on her own terms while remaining in marriage and can better serve her husband. But all the efforts should not be from women's side, in-kind efforts must be made by men to please and satisfy them.
In a nutshell, I think there is no greater joy when your mother is alive and that too in good health and there is no greater sorrow when she leaves this world to live in heavenly abode. She is unique in her being as there is no substitute for her. If you want to see how hard work looks like, observe your mother. If you want to see how love looks like, observe your mother's eyes when she sees you. It is her blessings that unite you in the form of a family. It is, because of her prayers whatever you have in your life. She always prays to her Lord to help and support her children in reaching the greasy pole. Without her, you are nothing and without her children, she is nothing (because she can't live without them). May He keep all the maladies far away from every mother. Amen!