I Hate My Society
I Hate My Society
Every man on the street today
Feels like a monster lusting over my skin.
"Cover-up,” Maa says,
Pointing out my sleeveless kurti.
While Baba is listening to politicians
Fighting over the religion of rapists,
I sometimes wonder what
Synonym of courage would they call me
If I get raped the other day.
Would they call me “Mardaani” or
“Nirbhaya” or “Veerangana”?
Baba says women who think
Too highly of themselves end up with this fate,
And I wonder what I thought of myself
At the age of four when my brother
Pushed his hand down my pants
Like I was cheap meat he brought from the market.
I wake up to the nightmare
Of being the only woman passenger
In an empty train coach,
While you are still busy
Deciding what the victim should've worn
To avoid rape.
You think women should wear
Silence around their necks
As medals from Olympics.
I am descendant of Kali,
Durga, Neith, Pakhet, Sekhmet.
I am the synonym of war.
I'll not wait for you to give me justice,
I'll push my foot down your throat,
And snatch it from you.
You'll call me the hundred
Synonyms of fear
Every time I wear the skin of a rapist
Around my waist.
I'll make you go through
What my sisters went through,
A thousand times over.
I will start a new century,
Where fear won't find a place
In women's dictionary.