Reservation 2050

He dressed up for the interview.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked his mom.

“Yes!” he replied with confidence.

“You know you can do something at home, you don’t need to do this,” she said.

“But I want to,” he said and left.

He reached the company campus and was asked to sit in the waiting room. He opened the door to the room and looked around. Forty or so women stared at him as he entered. Feeling awkward, he sat down in a chair in one corner of the room. He noticed some women staring at him, whispering to each other and laughing. Somewhere a woman passed a comment, which was not audible to him, but he instinctively knew it was about him. He waited anxiously and uncomfortably; he did not leave as he was keen to make a mark.

A few minutes later, some women again said something, laughed and exchanged high fives. Just then an elderly lady from the HR department walked in.

“Ladies, this behaviour is highly unacceptable!” she shouted.

“I have been observing since the time this gentleman walked in, you all have made it highly awkward for him. I agree the tables have turned, it’s the year 2050 and women have taken over. Society is not patriarchal anymore but matriarchal. That though, doesn’t mean we treat men the way they used to treat us when they lead our society. Our company has a policy to involve men, to uplift them and to give them an equal status. Hence, we have a 20% reservation for men. It’s sad enough to see just one man walking in for the interview. So, please treat him with love and respect as you would treat your father, brother or husband. I hope you all will take care of this henceforth. Our company has a strict policy against harassment of men,” she said and walked away.

There was a hush in the interview room. Some women came up to him and apologised. Subsequently, he was recruited.

He became popular in the office, right from day one. He was good looking, intelligent and had a good sense of humour. Women were often seen around his desk, craving his attention. Often, they asked him out for coffee, hoping he would accept the offer some day because he was known to be a tough nut to crack. His popularity continued to rise and so did his performance. His boss was really fond of him and she was thoroughly impressed by his work. As a reward she gave him a personal cabin right next to her own. There were some women who despised him too, they thought he got the promotion only because he was a man. That did not bother him though as he continued to climb the ladder of success.

Zeyd Ladha