Sisters without misters

Not too many years ago, when one of my girlfriends and I were both gloriously unemployed, we found an unusual and yet fulfilling activity to keep ourselves busy. We would go for the 11am show at the cinemas, and watch anything that was on offer.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

Now, if you have ever been to a matinee (interestingly, matinee comes from the French ‘matin’ for morning), you’ll know what a chick fest it is. The seats are lined with women who have just finished their household chores, arguing with their maids and mothers-in-law, dropped their tots to montessori, and are sneaking a little time out for themselves.

My friend and I got addicted to this convention. We began to dress up, put on a string of pearls and a nice shirt every time we went to the morning movies. It became our self-care routine. We loved the idea of a women’s - only space, where the girls would just come to hang out with each other, between the gnawing attention-seeking of quotidian life. It became our ‘zero period’.