Father's name and Husband's name

My mom is visiting me these days. I took her for a master health check up yesterday.
We had to fill up the hospital forms and I was filling it up for her.

There was a column for 'Father's/Husband's name.'

I found it meaningless to fill that in as neither her husband nor her father are even alive. How did it matter?
I didn't tell her anything though. The pain of losing my dad still opens up raw wounds inside me.

 'What should I write? Father's name or husband's name?' I asked her.

'Strike that out, write daughter's name and put your name there,' said my mom, very matter of fact .

And  with that statement, in her quiet  unassuming straight-forward way, she struck down the centuries of the subtle, powerful patriarchal system that our great India is seeped in.

 She is an amazing person, my mom.
And my strength too.

A pic of my mom and me clicked two days back :)

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