A woman professor in England stood in front of hundreds of her male and female students and gave them a farewell lecture on the occasion of her retirement from academic life.
She said: “Here I am in front of you, already over sixty years old. In those sixty years, i have reached the highest peak of honor. I was successful and progressed in all the years i spent in my life. I have occupied many positions and worked in many places in the society. Every minute in my life came to me with successes. I have acquired a lot of fame in life, and made a lot of money. I was blessed with opportunity of visiting almost every part of the world.
“But the one million dollar question is. Am I a successful and happy old woman now, even after getting all these material gains?
“Verily I have forgotten in the course of my ups and downs in academic and professional life, and the trips and fame I have enjoyed, to stop and get to myself as a woman, what is by far much better than all those academic, social and professional honours, as well as material things of life which I enjoyed.
“I had forgotten to get married and to bear children and to grow a family. I did not remember that I ought to have done all these things in my life, then it became clear to me that I have in reality achieved nothing in my life.
“And I have now realized that all the struggles I have had in my life and my ups and downs have all tantamount to nothing actually. And now I am retired, and barely a year or two after my retirement, the whole society and people I worked with will totally forget about me.
“However, if I had got married and built a big family, I would have left behind me, an unforgettable and everlasting landmark – younger generation of descendants – which is by far much better than everything in life.
“My dear students, verily, the most fundamental single role of the woman and which gives her a sense of pride and honour is to get married, and through that, to build a family. And any other role she played in the society beside that of building a sound, happy and disciplined family is virtually worthless.
“I am therefore counseling each and every female students who are listening to me to take this most important role as their number one priority in life.
And after that is achieved, you can start thinking about office work and acquiring fame in life.