BECAUSE YOU ARE A WOMAN

The weather was hot and humid.

I felt like removing all my clothes 

and diving into the pond water after the harvest.

But they said, 'You can't because you are a woman.'.

 

The kitchen was hot and humid.

I felt like cooking bare-bodied 

and walking half-naked in the room.

But they said, 'You can't because you are a woman.'.

 

The weather was cool and nice.

I felt like freeing the nipples 

and swim in the babbling, cool river.

But they said, 'You can't because you are a woman.'

 

The night was bright with city lights.

I felt like wearing light and

shopping in the fish market,

But they said, 'You can't because you are a woman.'

 

The garden was full of flowers.

I felt like dressing up sexy and gorgeous.

But they said, 'Be aware; you are a woman!'.

 

The dusk was sensuous with an orange sky.

I wanted to look attractive for you.

But they said, 'Be aware; you are a woman!'

 

I learnt all these things from them.

So, I concentrated on studies and worked hard.

Even though some said, 'There's no point 'cause you are a woman.'

 

I learnt all these things from them.

So, I worked hard and became a doctor.

But they said, 'You should understand the clan.'

 

I learnt about them more or less.

I hardly liked them around me.

But I did not talk much since I was a woman.

 

That day in the hospital, it was hectic.

So, I fell asleep on a chair in the seminar room.

But they came and molested me.

But they came and raped me.

But they came and tortured me.

And at last they murdered me - all because I was a woman.

 

Believe me, now I have no pain.

I am everywhere, from the storm to the rain.

They raped, murdered, and burnt my body.

But I am still waiting, bodiless, in the sky.

My soul keeps travelling from the light to the dark.

Everywhere around the globe they will hark,

'Freedom, freedom, freedom, and freedom.

Kill them and their rotten system.'

It's time to review and recreate the norms

in the light of our new modern forms.

I felt the pain that lasted for hours.

The pain lingers, hidden all around and in all the flowers.