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The poet writes about how a woman is controlled right from childhood. But she needs to stand up for herself, and some women do.
It starts with the shop keeper silently understanding what you need Coming back with the pack wrapped in newspaper or polythene Hiding the bright vibrant colours Trying to silence the obvious.
It starts with women being told not to enter the temple or the kitchen Not to sleep in the same bed Or touch the jar of pickle. Women are needed they said Just not when they bled.
It starts with the concept of being auspicious and pious All boiling down to the woman’s body and her tryst Women are goddesses, they claim Just not when they find the courage to be the masters of their own aim!
It starts with treating women as objects they can shame Thinking raping them is an easy way to tame The blood and the touch in the rape is not counted Because a man’s actions unlike a woman’s, can be left unaccounted.
It starts with them asking Miss or Mrs Ignoring the Ms for they want to count the kisses Because the world wants to know a woman’s identity By knowing her marital status and is not interested in her own entity.
It starts with telling little girls to cross their legs and sit For spreading legs too is believed to be the society’s pick They want to decide when and who For independent girls becoming liberated women is something scary and new
It starts with all the abuses ending on women’s body parts The same parts that are both worshipped and shamed from the start The society’s harmony it seems Rests on restricting a women’s mind, body and her dreams.
But,
It ends with giving wings to our own dreams Not the society’s but listening to our own needs Its time to stand up for our own self And put the shame and burden of traditions on the shelf.
And walk out with the head held high From the invisible walls that imprisoned thy For free minds and free spirits Can break down patriarchy in meagre minutes.
All it takes is a moment of realisation and a belief To open the eyes and see the reality with relief To feel lighter by chucking the burdens of customs and have-tos Vibrant and smiling because finally we can let our tied up wings loose.
A version of this was first published here.
Image source: pixabay
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This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. 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.
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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.
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