If there& #39;s one thing I have/will always vouch for, that& #39;s merit. Can never live with myself having gotten somewhere, not because I worked hard for it & deserved it, but because of something given to me by Allah that the other person could not change.

Unfortunately, the idea of being a woman = the only one with lesser opportunities, is the narrative that sells. That& #39;s what got that girl in the commonwealth essay her first prize. That& #39;s what will get you published in an elite journal as well over high quality glioma research.

We& #39;ve all taken advantage of this narrative. I& #39;ve taken advantage of this narrative too, when in a weak moment, I made a story up on a damsel in distress south asian girl in my CIE Eng Language paper, & ended up in an A*. It& #39;s been 7 years, I never forgave myself.

As a girl, I have been a victim of this as well. Looking at low quality research done on women in medicine getting published in elite journals while I wait for some journal to accept my research on the most killing tumour on this planet.

Women face a lot in terms of oppression and opportunities. The least we could do is to be kind & fair on our part, to not take advantage of our sexes, & to not strip others, lesser than us, but not females, off opportunities that could potentially change their lives.