RE WOMEN EXPECTED TO NEVER HAVE A LOW SOCIAL BATTERY?

In Pakistan, the pressure on women to “show up” is relentless. Emotionally, socially, and physically. From attending back-to-back dawats to being the perfect host, wife, mother, or daughter-in-law, the expectation is clear: keep smiling, keep serving, and keep engaging. Rest is a luxury. Silence is suspicious. And saying “I need a break” is too often misread as rebellion.

But here’s the question we’re finally asking out loud. Are women even allowed to have a low social battery?

For many, the answer is no. While men can retreat behind the excuse of work or not being in the mood, women are expected to be endlessly available. Emotionally tuned in and socially switched on. A drained woman at a family event is labelled cold. A quiet girl at a mehndi? Off mood. A wife who cancels a plan for some alone time? Nakhra kar rahi hai.

We romanticize the idea of women as nurturers but rarely recognize the burnout that comes from constantly having to hold space for others. There’s no room for quiet exhaustion in a culture that links femininity with self-sacrifice and likability with being present.

But here’s what needs to change. Rest isn’t a flaw, and boundaries aren’t arrogance. Women, too, deserve the space to disconnect, recharge, and say, “Not today.”

And if that makes people uncomfortable, it should. That’s where change begins.