A woman,
You are a woman.
From the day you took your first breath to the last one of your existence, you remain a woman throughout.
The struggles, the wars, the pains and the fights,
It all started when you saw the first light.
The nurse rubbing your back harshly,
All the taunts and allegations that were heard upon.
The questionable look on everyone’s face,
“Why God? Why a Girl” they said.
It was all an essence of your womanhood.
An essence of the grim life you embarked upon,
You work like a machine throughout whether be it dusk or the first dawn.
You are a woman, you forever remain a woman.
Whether you dress in short clothes or remain covered head to toe, you are a woman.
Whether you cake your face with makeup or not, you still are a woman.
Compiled of anxiety, exhaustion, sacrifice and deprivation,
You still go on and on and on.
You still go on and on, caressing and attending to your wounds and scars.
Using your old faded tee to soak the blood and your precious tears like stars.
Walking across the lane you are noticed.
Walking across the lane you are noticed and they ‘check you out’,
As if you’re someone who is new in the town.
They scan you through your skin tight jeans and crisp shirt from head to toe,
With cheesy comments and whistles you are bestowed.
But no, it is not about how you look or about the clothes you wear,
It’s about their obsolete personalities that are beyond any repair.
You suffer the uncertainties out of choice,
Often considered unequal in front of this society to the boys.
Touched all over the body with sweet whispers in your ears,
Sexually abused, molested and harassed; with eyes brimming with tears.
People will watch everything with mouths open and eyes glued,
You will cry and yell and plead but they won’t show any solicitude.
You are a woman and you fight against the rape culture, the injustices and the violence,
You open up your voice and are sent into a brainery without your compliance.
All this changes you and you do not remain the same,
No you do not, and the society is the one to be blamed.
The soul in you gets abated but you still remain a woman,
You remain a woman and become stronger.
You are a woman, no less than the males,
You give birth to a child shunning his/her gender, creating a new tale.
But even in this contemporary world, a female asks another female,
To abort if it’s going to be a girl.
But Why?
Why are the girls considered to be a burden?
Why is their life so perplexing, so uncertain?
Why are the girls taken up for granted?
The feeling of being an option and misused is rancid.
I ask, why?
Do you think it’s a joke or are ‘we’ a joke?
Why do you even expect us to behave normally, after all our trust in humanity that is broke?
A woman is silenced,
She’s raped, exploited, and brutalized.
She’s forced to dress in a certain way, live according to the society,
And hide all her wishes, dreams, needs and anxiety.
But after all this too, a woman remains a woman.
She walks silently and solemnly,
And carries out all her jobs and duties honestly.
But over all this,
They are beautiful and deserve to be loved.
The deserve equality and respect no matter what.
Nurturing and caring females is the need of the hour,
You and I are a woman;
And that’s our superpower.
-Sanjana
-Behind the lens: Xing ( Instagram: caliallstaring)
