My brother (my sibling, that is) was recently declared an only child.

Now, now! Calm down everyone, I am not writing from my grave. I still am alive. Just non-existent (in the eyes of some, I should say). It so happened that an “updated” version of the Koirala family tree was published a few days ago.

And, with great excitement, I dug into it to track myself down, and lo! I was missing! On careful observation, I saw that it was not just myself who was missing there. A lot of my cousins were, too. And all of them were girls!

By the time I realised that the coincidence was actually intentional, a lot of questions started popping up in my mind. After congratulating my brother on having made it to the “coveted” family tree, I sat down on my own for some contemplation.

I first looked up a dictionary for the literal meaning of the word family tree.

It said: Family tree is a drawing showing the relationships between different members of a

family, especially over a long period of time”.

“Different members” it clearly said and not “different male members”. Having ruled that loophole out, I dwelled on my new realisation. It was sickening to think that to some orthodox minds, females were still the unimportant half of the society. So much so that their existence itself was not worth mentioning.

You see, feminism is not about proving that women are better than men. It is about each and every one of us realising that every person born in this world is equal, irrespective of their sex (or any other differences, in that case!). Likewise, gender equality will not prevail by merely recruiting 33 per cent women, whether or not they are qualified.

It can actually exist when girls and women are given equal opportunities, equal importance

and equal respect, right from the beginning, so that they may compete with their male counterparts without the 33 per cent grant — the 33 per cent handicap, if I were to call it.

And as far as the family tree is concerned, well, believe it or not, it is incomplete without the females of the family. Without the mothers, whose part you are and without the daughters who are a part of you.