They say I should let things be,
That I should be silent.
My place is in the background,
Like a shadow I should not speak.
They say that culturally I am a second class citizen,
That I belong to a man like his sheep and goats.
If my man hurts me,
I should be silent,
It is only discipline,
He is only doing it because he loves me.
They say I should accept the cut,
That changes me from a girl into a woman,
It doesn’t matter that it hurts,
That I can’t enjoy sex
Or that I struggle to give birth.
They say it is a man’s world,
So I should be the one to be controlled.
Why should he use condoms if he is having many partners?
Why should it be his job to make sure I don’t get pregnant?
Why should he ensure I get equality,
When it means he will no longer have a footstool?
He will never again be allowed to hit me,
After all he paid dowry so he owns me.
He will never be able to sexually harass me at the workplace,
Because I will report him and he will be fired.
He will never be able to rape me,
And get away with it,
By slashing grass in the village.
They want me to be silent,
So that they can use me, abuse me,
And I will keep silent,
I will be a shadow.
But now I stand in the sun,
In my full glory,
No longer afraid, no longer silent.
There shall no longer be,
The silence of a woman.
