What if I told you I’m the seed of your existence?
Would you rape me then? Overlook me then?
I am a woman; I am significant.
A beautiful precious crescent, sweet and pleasant;
I deserve your respect, I deserve to be celebrated.
I am a teenager; was raped and I now have a child that I get bullied for.
I am a girl who turned to a prostitute because of a nasty heartbreak;
raped by a person I called Lover, a person whose acts robbed me of my pride
and snatched away my smile.
I am that woman who was gang raped by five men, but there was no evidence of semen.
I am a single mother, with three kids and a non existent father.
I am a victim of rape, sexism, genital mutilation… the list goes on.
I am that “big news today, no evidence tomorrow” type of situation.
Our grandparents were told, “the lower the age the higher the offense”;
Now, we are told “the higher the money the lower the significance”,
but I believe we all are.
I Am Beautiful.
I am beautiful
Not just because I have an hourglass figure,
But because I am a fighter
And my power blazes hotter than the biggest bonfire.
Stand up and tell them you too are beautiful, not just because of your face, but because you are made of thousands of electrolytes and nobody can degrade that.
Tell them you are beautiful because you are made of:
BE BERRYLIUM, AU GOLD, TI TITANIUM, F FLUORINE, U URANIUM and L because you give LIFE.
When they say “you’re not fit to acquire as much knowledge as them”,
Tell them, Confucious said:
“To accept that you know something and to agree that you do not know all things, this is true knowledge.”
So take the challenge; as a matter of fact, be THE Challenge,
A thick wall they can’t see through;
A crystalline structure no one can break through.
And when becoming your own hero seems too hard,
Remember this: “life is not easy. If it’s easy, it won’t be worth it; because it is worth it, it won’t be easy.”
So if you give up now,
You’re only saying you’re not worthy.
Be bold,
Smile,
Learn,
Lead and
Never forget that you are a shero;
You put the “her” in HERo.
Authored by Fadilla Ann Shaibani
Featured Picture by The Daily Star
