If you have read Franz Kafka's novel 'The Metamorphosis,' you may know the famous fictional character Gregor Samsa who wakes up in the morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect.
He does not do any work and keeps himself locked in his room, away from society. His family, disgusted and unwilling, start working again and provides him with food. But the relationship continuously degrades.
Ultimately Gregor dies of starvation, and his family leaves the house and moves to another place.
Although the arguments of this article don't fit in the situation of Gregor, the writer would like to imagine what'd she do if she woke up a boy one fine morning.
Well, if the author of this article becomes a boy one day, she would first like to stay outside late at night with friends. She would like to know how it feels to walk alone on the roads without worrying about harassment.
The author wants to feel how it likes to stay outside after 6 as a boy and know how her family would react to that behaviour.
Well, the idea of being a boy for a day is so exciting that this author fell short of ideas and sought assistance from some of her acquaintances.
Jasmine Akter, a resident of Donia, Dhaka, and the author's mother, has an interesting thing to share.
"If I become a boy for a day, I would go to the mosque and sleep!"
A 2nd-year Banking and Insurance student of Dhaka University, Azra Anis Mahera, shared that she'd enjoy the freedom a boy enjoys.
"When I leave home, they ask thousands of questions about where I am going, when I will come, how many classes I have, and many times I get a call when I stay outside home. Freedom in all aspects of a boy. I would never have so many barriers if I were a boy!"
She also thinks boys are provided with more pocket money by the family than girls since they mostly remain inside the home.
"If I were a boy for a day, I would go to all the places I like, buy a few nice T-shirts, see how everyone treats me when I am a boy," commented Ayesha Akter, a 16-year-old student of Barnamala Adarsha High School.
She wishes to be casual like boys and see what difference that makes in her.
"I'd like to stand on the street and see how it feels like drinking tea (from a roadside tong), go out wearing my house clothes."
Ayesha also wouldn't like to wake up in the morning as the boys' shifts are always in the second half of the day.
"If I become a boy for a day, then I will not go to school. I will play outside all day because mom lets my brother play outside but does not allow me," said Afra Yasmine, a standard-1 student at Willes Little Flower School.
One common thing between them is that they eagerly cherish freedom. They want to do things they are usually not allowed to; they want to feel relaxed about not being bothered and not being monitored severely.
