When I Realised My Power As A Girl

“I found my power because I was a girl,” says Kirthi Jayakumar, despite being told as a girl what she couldn’t do. Because she questioned all those stereotypes.

The Indian girl child is told often enough that she doesn’t deserve better. That she’s nothing more than a womb. That she can’t possibly ask for more. Yet, women refuse to give up on the dream of equality, of seizing their place in the sun. Starting 6th October 2018, as part of the conversations we have at Women’s Web for the International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October, we present a special series in which a few of our best authors write about #GirlPower. Some write from their own experience as girls, some about the significant girls in their lives, and some even to future daughters – a rich tapestry of emotions that is woven with love, bravery, inspiration, hope, fear, pain, and so much more.

“Oh you can’t this, you’re a girl!” is something all of us are told growing up. As if it needs a Y chromosome to do all the things we’re told not to do. Kirthi Jayakumar challenges this in her poem, saying that she found her power because she was a girl!

I realized my power as a girl
when I held my own
when they said
I shouldn’t wear shorts
or play out in the sun

I realized my power as a girl
when I questioned
all things
that divide us: caste
colour, and religion

I realized my power as a girl
not when marketing gimmicks
told me
I was powerful despite being a girl,
but when
I found my power because I was a girl.

Read all the #GirlPower posts in this series here.

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Image source: shutterstock

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