Modernity placed the utmost importance on building a utopian world free of logical fallacies, social injustices, corrupt establishments, gender inequities and the like. The Enlightenment and Post World War periods impregnated the masses especially the women with the idea of a free and fair world. This contemporary world claims to have broken the shackles of ancient myths, most importantly for women, the myth that they are inferior to men.
The 19th century set the stage for a radical reversal of the role of women in society. Perhaps one of the greatest achievements by female activists was the right to vote in 1918 in the Americas which subsequently spread to other nations. Today, scholars classify feminist movements under three broad waves. The first wave consists of the woman’s struggle for political equity. The second encompasses the combat of social and cultural inequities while the last wave argues for dismantling the stereotypical definition of being a woman.
Successful women like Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and our very own Benazir Bhutto have led to a drastic alteration of what it means to be a woman. While most may envy the life of the remarkable women mentioned above, it is constantly forgotten that such women are involuntarily placed under a permanent spotlight of constant criticism. While a man is labelled as successful if he earns a fat salary every month, a woman cannot claim success until she achieves the perfect balance of success at home and at work.
While at first glance, this successful mix may seem within arm’s reach, a thorough analysis of the idealised woman proves it to be far more than a perfect blend. For starters, she must be assertive at work in order to mobilise the workforce, while at home she must be compliant and submissive to the husband in order to build a healthy home. The wife must be rational at work and emotional at home. She must switch her character the minute she enters her home and follow suit once she steps foot in the office. If two roles weren’t enough, she must also adopt a feminist aura at work.
A woman’s workplace must be neat, clean, organised just like her appearance whereas men are given the privilege of not being judged as ruthlessly in all walks of life, especially in patriarchal societies such as Pakistan. After extended hours of work, the wife must be agile enough to not only engage with her family but to also cook them a flawless meal. In fact, the more promotions the woman attains at work, the more she must glamorise and beautify herself. Therefore there is no end to the ladder of success for a woman. Hence, the perfect mix is one that doesn’t even mix at all. Rather it is the perfect ingredient to an inevitable mental breakdown. The ‘perfect woman’ or the ‘paradoxical woman’ rather, has caused what is now clinically termed as the “Superwoman Syndrome” which has replaced previous stereotypes targeted at women.
While it is pointless in arguing whether a preceding stereotype is better than the present one, the Superwoman Syndrome is undoubtedly harder to break free from. Most successful women suffer from this syndrome without even being aware of it. The causes of this syndrome start from the home with impossible expectations and over-arching standards being placed at a very young age on the daughters of an average household. After this, the environment and society play a great role in enhancing the problem of this disease. Society, as always, acts like a watchdog in negatively sanctioning any behaviour that is not fitting for the role of the successful women of today. Actions that must be ostracised range from petty issues such as inappropriate dressing to more serious ones like divorces or drug abuse.
Emotional symptoms of the Superwoman Syndrome include adopting various roles, being a perfectionist, mood swings, emotional outbursts, negativity, high amounts of stress and inexplicable guilt for taking time off to rest. Mostly, physical symptoms such as abdominal pain, shortness of breath, inability to sleep well, rashes, muscle tension and spasms coincide with the psychological symptoms. Some reports suggest that the syndrome can exist at just the age of 13 in some girls. Dr Madeline Anne Lewis, co-author of the Superwoman Syndrome, explains that women who are more likely to develop this disease are those who have a high desire for attention, inability to say no and feel the urge to please people amongst other factors.
The Superwoman Syndrome’s most harmful effect is high amounts of unneeded stress. Stress can lead to serious physical ailments such as ulcers, heart diseases, migraines, headaches, high blood pressure etc. Recent studies in stress indicate that most women seek refuge from stress in their eating patterns. Thus, bulimia and anorexia are additional diseases that can develop for a woman who suffers from the Superwoman Syndrome. However, the dangers don’t stop here. Women with the syndrome are also more likely to get addicted to anti-depressants, alcohol or drugs to temporarily relieve themselves of the constant pressure of being a mother, worker, housewife, and host, all at the same time.
Luckily, unlike most disorders, the Superwoman Syndrome can be cured. Of course, the first step is to educate oneself and society about this disease. This can easily be done in the modern era by reading up online or learning from the large volume of books now available on the syndrome. The second step is to reorganise one’s schedule and to make it a point to give time to one’s own self. Although, women with the syndrome may feel guilty at first, the effect of feeling rejuvenated when back from the break will diminish the guilt. Women with this syndrome must learn to delegate tasks and most importantly acknowledge that it is perfectly human and womanlike to ask for help. This will in turn help with reducing the problem of perfectionism. Lastly, society must do its bit as well by encouraging women to be bold enough to step out of their prescribed roles and this of course will naturally occur once people are more aware of the effects that simple gossiping may have on a woman who is fighting such a disease.
While, the Superwoman Syndrome is indeed the offspring of subsequent feminist movements of the enlightened world, this does not mean that feminism is detrimental to women. Feminism has achieved great results for women and continues to do so. The only thing that needs to be done is for the world and feminists to acknowledge that feminism amongst other things is the radical notion that women too are human beings.