A Right To Her Own Self

#Poetry. A woman often has no right to her own self, simply because she is born a woman. When will this change? When will she be able to own her self and her life?

#Poetry. A woman often has no right to her own self, simply because she is born a woman. When will this change? When will she be able to own her self and her life?

She is born a woman.

When will her birth be celebrated without any reservations?

Will she ever be able to decide for herself?

Will she ever be free to walk out on the streets without strategizing:
Should I go?
Need I go?
Am I dressed right?
Will I be considered respectable enough?
Is the time OK to go out?
Is it safe for me to be out?
Which way will be safe?
How fast do I need to go to reach a safe place?

When will she be taken seriously?

Will the world ever realize that a no means a NO?

Will she ever be able to universally claim her right to an education?

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Will she ever be able to express her thoughts and feelings without worrying about being ridiculed for it or about who might get angry over it?

Will she ever be able to live to her full potential without having to dumb down to conform to others’ expectations of her?

Will she ever be able to be true to herself without being apologetic or being made to feel guilty about wanting to be herself?

Will she ever be able to see herself as a human being first, without the epithets of mother, daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, granddaughter, nurturer, care-taker, house-keeper, cook, whore, entertainer? Will the world ever be able to?

Will she be able to perceive her self through filters other than those of fair, dark, fat, thin, short, tall, beautiful, ugly, black, white, yellow, brown? Will the world ever be able to?

Will she ever be considered a human being, with human wants, wishes, feelings, failings, without the halo or stain?

Will she ever be considered more than a means to an end- getting a male heir? More than a womb whose job it is to cater to the propogation of the (ironically) human race?

Will she ever be able to reclaim her right to her body, her thoughts, her feelings, her wishes, her life?

Will she ever be able to live a happy and fulfilling life on her own terms without everyone and their cousin attempting to control her choices?

Will her life be ever considered more important than any ideology?

She is born a woman.

This has been previously published on the author’s blog.

Image source: pixabay

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About the Author

Sandhya Renukamba

In her role as the Senior Editor & Community Manager at Women's Web, Sandhya Renukamba is fortunate to associate every day with a whole lot of smart and fabulous writers and readers. A doctor read more...

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