Al-Watan newspaper

TWO questions fuel the fire in women: What is your weight; and how old are you? Only courageous women can answer the two questions. But does any woman require boldness to disclose her real age?

These questions may seem normal to a man and he will be giving spontaneous answers, but most iconic women who shine in the media often express their reservations when they face such questions.

So let’s discuss the reasons that often encourage women to fight aging and evade age-related questions? There is nothing wrong in asking these questions. On the other hand, a woman's refusal to disclose her age may reveal many other things about her.

Most women consider the question about their weight quite embarrassing as the matter is directly linked to their health and it exposes their wrong health habits as well as their failure to change their lifestyle and improve their health condition.

Nobody can escape from aging because it’s a natural process. We don’t feel any embarrassment when wrinkles appear on our faces due to aging and there is no use in launching a war on aging.

I have repeatedly tried to follow more than one female artist and poet to see their answers to the above question. They often say: "I will not answer this question or pass it. I don’t want to disclose my age because people will start thinking about my wrongly."

There have been cases of forgery committed by female artists to decrease their age by making changes in the identity cards and other official documents. You can imagine the huge amounts of money they must have spent for this purpose.

Young age is not a great thing to be proud of. The most important thing in life is our achievements. A beautiful woman (who considered her beauty as her capital) will evade that question until the end of her life. She will be facing internal and external conflicts and will be seeking a solution for her tension and depression.

I still remember the words of a capable female artist, who is one of the few who are not shy about getting old. She said the state of art is deteriorating because of outsiders, especially models who show latest fashion trends in style.

Her one single sentence stopped me: “Anybody who entered the world of art to make money using her beauty, I advise her to look for another market to sell her. For example, the vegetable market.”

I am sure that such women will be earning their living making use of their beauty, following the latest fashion and advise of aestheticians on how to look young and beautiful.

Dear female teachers, doctors, engineers and mothers... we should know that our beauty lies in our achievements and positions we have held with responsibility over the past years. My request to teenage girls is that they should not start countdown today until they cross 30 to think about how to stop aging.

We should spend every year of life to win the satisfaction of God, gain knowledge and do goodness to His creation. This will increase the luster and splendor of our life. We should know that age is the story of our achievements. Now, can I ask how old are you?