OCTOBER 18 — Women have come a long way. There was a time when a woman’s path in life was limited to being a wife, a servant, or worse a victim of circumstance. 

Back in the early 20th century, many women had little say over their own future. The Indonesian writer Hamka, in his classic 1931 novel Terusir, painted a painful picture of how society treated women who dared to be different.

The story follows Mariah, a woman whose life falls apart after being falsely accused of wrongdoing. 

Her husband casts her out, separating her from her child, and society turns its back on her. 

Alone and desperate, Mariah is forced into a life she never chose not because of guilt, but because of judgment. 

Through her story, Hamka exposes how moral hypocrisy and social pressure can destroy a woman’s dignity, showing that injustice often comes not from law, but from people’s hearts.

Today, the world looks very different. 

Women can study, work, lead, and even run nations. 

But behind this progress, inequality still quietly lingers. 

We talk about equal opportunities, but in truth, women are still fighting to be heard and taken seriously. 

Whether it’s in the workplace, politics, or even at home, there are invisible walls that continue to remind women that the struggle is far from over.

Then comes the daily news headlines about girls being bullied, assaulted, or killed. Each story feels like a wound that reopens the fear many women already live with. Sociologists have long said that fear isn’t just an emotion; it’s something society teaches. 

When women hear about violence again and again, it sends a silent message: “Don’t stand out, you will be judged”; “Don’t speak out, you will not be heard”; “Don’t try to lead, you are not worthy”.

This constant reminder shapes how many women see themselves not as agents of change, but as individuals who must always be careful not to cross invisible lines set by society. 

Fear, in this sense, becomes a quiet form of control that limits women’s confidence and courage to lead, to speak, or to rise.

Yet caution and composure, when understood with balance, are not weaknesses. They are qualities of grace and thoughtfulness values that guide how we carry ourselves with respect and wisdom in public life. 

But when fear replaces balance, it turns those same values into barriers. It silences voices that could inspire and holds back potential that could transform communities for the better.

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu once described this as symbolic violence a kind of control that doesn’t use force but uses fear, habit, and expectation to keep people in their place. 

For women, this often means being reminded that safety and acceptance depend on staying within limits. 

Over time, this invisible pressure teaches women that it’s safer to stay small, quiet, and invisible, even when their ideas could make a difference.

In the 1990s, researchers like Gill Valentine and Rachel Pain found that women’s everyday routines were deeply shaped by fear where they walk, how they dress, and how they move in public. 

These patterns still exist today. 

Many women think twice before taking a night bus, parking far from a building, or jogging alone. 

These habits form what some call ‘fearscapes’ spaces that feel unsafe simply because society has made them that way.

The truth is, even when we don’t talk about it, patriarchy still lives among us. It’s not as obvious as before it hides behind cultural norms, social expectations, and casual jokes about how women “should” behave. 

It appears every time people blame a woman for her own assault or question a woman’s ability to lead.

Breaking this cycle isn’t easy. 

We can’t just pass laws or run campaigns we need to change how we think, talk, and act. 

We must raise both boys and girls with the same sense of safety, respect, and empathy. 

We must stop telling women to “be careful” and start teaching society to be accountable for the spaces it creates.

Women have fear enough as it is. 

Let’s not add to it by turning violence into headlines that sensationaliae pain or by normaliaing behaviour that puts the blame on victims. 

Instead, let’s build a society where women can walk freely without fear where strength and safety belong to everyone, not just men.

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.