I got a job while I was still 19, my sister started working longer hours, and our mother became our anchor at home. At the same time, my mother embodied how matriarchy at home cannot withstand patriarchy outside. While my sister and I were praised for living life on our own terms, my mother was criticised for every choice she made. My mother was our Neelam — strong, dignified, enduring, and endlessly strong while raising two Ayeshas — but society refused to see her that way. Real matriarchy isn’t painted in Barbie pink.