Women’s Web is saying Goodbye! Please make sure you read this important notification.
In the light of the recent focus on 'others' and 'outsiders' in the US, this poem explores the feelings of a woman who chooses to wear the hijab.
In the light of the recent focus on ‘others’ and ‘outsiders’ in the US, this poem explores the feelings of a woman who chooses to wear the hijab (headscarf).
modesty ripped
through a nation’s glare
a hijab unknots in fickle air
running behind cascading pride
outstretched hands fall inches short
as she takes a dive for the silken cloth
paisleys bunch up in graceful folds
gliding fluidly to meet the dust
trembling fingers reach out again to briskly cover the exposed bust
veil of deceit, that filthy rag
a nettlesome itch, a bramble in the eye
the fashion is un-american, they hotly chastise
take it off, let loose that hair
put your patriotism out on garish display
cause this ain’t land for traitors who kneel five times a day
they ask her to dismember a limb
to discard an identity she’s held since nine
her armour, her honour – politically embroiled; she’s shown dresses with rising hemlines
the country is theirs; her days are numbered
dreaded diktat arrives to prove the point
how do you separate body and soul when the two breathe conjoint?
she picks up knickknacks of her life
bottles up feelings, memories in a bag
watching agog the parade of eviction grand marshal flies the freedom flag
wet shame rolls down her cheeks
the dam of restraint finds an unbridled release
spare me, my sisters, she meekly pleads; i shall do as you say… as you please
Become a premium user on Women’s Web and get access to exclusive content for women, plus useful Women’s Web events and resources in your city.
Top image via Pixabay
Yogyata is the creator, nurturer and Chief Operating Officer of a family of four in Columbus, Ohio. She quit her corporate job after a busy season of uncovering financial infractions to address the more serious read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Dear Women’s Web Community Member,
You may have wondered at our being on the quieter side during the last couple of months. Thank you for your patience, and we wanted to come back to you with a detailed note on what’s been happening at our end of things.
When we first began Women’s Web, as a blog from one woman’s desk along with a few like-minded souls, little could we have imagined the heights that it would soar to. Over the years, Women’s Web has published over 20000 stories (almost all by women), empowered countless women with the ideas, community and resources to chase their dreams, employed hundreds of women in core and project-based roles, and in the process, emerged as the OG women’s community in India. It has also inspired many others to build communities of a similar nature, all enabling women (and other-underrepresented groups) in their own ways.
Please enter your email address