I am a Question

This is for me, a tribute to all girls.

Rebirth was my wish
My wish was rebirth
Millions of years later,my wish
My wish was granted.

I was born as a Christian,
Alas! Veil suffocated my hairs.
Suffocation led to death
And I said goodbye to Christianity
And never more a nun.

Rebirth was my wish
My wish was rebirth
Millions of years later,my wish
My wish was granted.

I was born as a Hindu,
Alas! ghoonghat suffocated my face.
Suffocation led to death
And I said goodbye to Hinduism
And never more a bride.

Rebirth was my wish
My wish was rebirth
Millions of years later,my wish
My wish was granted.

I was born as a Muslim,
Alas!purdah suffocated the entire me.
Suffocation led to death
And I said goodbye to Islam
And never more...

Rebirth was my wish
My wish was rebirth
Millions of years later, my wish
My wish was in the tomb.

My wish pleaded me,
Never wish,never dream.
You are a woman,
Before you I am a question
And not a wish.

Author's Note

Your opinion is my greatest achievement!

*ghoonghat -Ghoonghat (ghunghat, ghunghta, laaj, chunni, jhund or Odhni) is a veil or headscarf worn by some married Hindu, Jain and Sikh women to cover their head.

Reviews

[Sara H]

I like it - and very interesting! Something I could have agreed with 15 years ago, but not so much now. But I think you have expressed your frustrations about our society, etc. very well and poignantly. Beautiful.

In fact, it is a good "debating" starter for pupils in high school/university - to make them think and consider the history of women :)

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you, Sarah. Yes, things have changed so much with the years passing by. But not much. Let us think about women of Syria,Iraq and Pakistan. Even in India women are suppressed. So it is not only about covering up us physically but rather mentally also by the name of the rules,regulations and religion.

[Aehr]

This is a powerful poem. I like how it conveys a lot even in its simple, brief words. The pain and frustration of women is very well depicted. And your title is very interesting. Thank you for sharing with us this tribute to women and girls. Keep writing. x

[Sandra Nair]

Thanking you a lot, Rhea for sparing your time for me.

[Aehr]

No problem x

[Rinzin Samdup]

Great piece ! i like when someone talks about impermanence. you have good lines friend.

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you, Rinzin. You made me check the meaning of a word.

[Gaurav]

Your poem clearly depicts society's flawed notions about women. They, as men, are the children of God and must be treated with utmost respect. When a bird is put inside a cage, nature cries and this, my friend, is not a good omen. Beautiful poem. I loved it.

[Sandra Nair]

I completely agree, Gaurav.

[nisha]

At times,our feeling of suffocation lead us to negativity but positive attitude is key to success...

[Sandra Nair]

I join with you, Isha. Not only in this case but many other times too we are driven into negative thoughts. But we should be optimistic. Thank you for your wonderful and valuable opinion on the matter.

[RuseInex]

Your poem sings like a chant and repeats itself in a choral fashion which makes it beautiful, like a song..... it is a philosophical prose, from your heart/experience and perhaps culture, it is poignant with a stark conclusion that strikes against religious ideas and customs that repress the freedom of women, I like it, (now simply add a space after each exclamation mark and after each comma)

[Sandra Nair]

Hey, I liked the sentence written inside the braces in your review! Thank you for your objective in the subject.

[Workvio]

Women were intended by the Creator of all that is and will ever be, no matter one's chosen faith or religion, to be protected and cherished, not enslaved and abused ... Women are truly equal to men, and were meant to be viewed as treasures, not trophies or cattle, elevated as the work of art which truly are as a blessing to all mankind ... Sadly, we men always seem to find a way to take the beauty of the wonderful gift given us in women, and distort, pervert, and destroy it by saddling women with rules and regulations that pretend and feign honoring and protecting them while actually forcing them to live a life of bondage and enslavement to the will and whims of the male ego ... Be fully aware dear ladies that today there is a Women's Rights movement running Pall Mall at breakneck speed, and not everything about that movement is actually setting women free at all ... There was a time, here in America (here in Texas) when a man could not just sleep with a woman and then abandon her when she came to be with child ... That man was expected to marry, support, and protect that woman who had trusted him with the most personal part of herself ... The Women's Rights movement has successfully empowered men to be totally irresponsible these days, to leave women pregnant to raise children by themselves, or make a decision to abort their child, a precious human life lost, all too often, because of the lack of character and integrity in the men of today ... In gaining their freedom women are actually exploited sexually more than at any time in history, and it is taking place of their own free will, believing such exploitation of themselves to be an expression of their new found freedom and rights to be equal to men ... I support Women's Rights, yet, to have a right does not make it right to allow men to debase and degrade a woman in the very name of such rights ... This movement needs some tweaking in ways that will actually empower women, without leaving avenues for men to behave irresponsibly, or to exploit them ... Exercise your rights carefully, for doing right is always a better state of affairs than simply possessing rights that may lead you to make mistakes that will change your life forever, to never be forgotten ... Men are out there for the express purpose of taking advantage of women, and they have no problem using your rights to achieve their goals ... Such a state of affairs causes an old man like me to be ashamed of being a man, at times ... I think part of our error is in trying to make women equal, rather than elevating them to honored and cherished position above us, to be loved, treasured, protected at all costs, and honored ... I was raised and taught to treat a woman with respect, open doors for her, walk beside her, at times even behind her as a precious jewel on display for the world to see, but not for the world to touch or steal away ... Times have changed, and in our attempts at equality, somehow women have lost some good things here in my land that need to be revived and added to this new found freedom and rights for women ... Treat a woman like a lady, a true lady, and she has then found her freedom ... Your heart penned to page oozes lines of poetry that spoke to my heart of some of the pain of what it must be like to be a woman forced to live under such conditions ... Bravo ...

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you.. It is not only for saying my poem is 'good' but beyond that, for letting me know about the situation in Texas. I hope,dream and work to make everything better and safe. I believe everyone will together work for a change.

[Workvio]

In trying to be brief, something very difficult for me at times, the entire problem can be summed up in the word respect ... First, respect life, life in the world and life in the womb ... Second, let a man respect a woman for the beautiful creature she is, for she is not cattle to be bought, owned, harnessed, ridden, or sold ... Third, let the woman respect the man, all the good he is capable of if he is a good man, and all the bad he is more than capable of if he has been taught wrongly and is, thus, not a good man and views women as objects for his personal pleasure and power … A good man, well taught, can become a bad man in learning from other bad men and the macho man mindset portrayed in movies and television, or becoming so focused selfishly upon himself that he forgets what he was taught and begins to behave like the rest of the world … Sadly, in my own life, for a time I forgot who I was, who I had been taught to be … The end of that was divorce … Happily, after six years apart, me walking the earth like a blind dead man, we have started over better than ever … Not many men get the chance to regain their reason for living in remembering who they are, and how precious their wife is to them … Now ... There are bad women in this world who do use men, but in almost every case it has been the experience of bad men who has taught a woman her evil ways as a self defense mechanism, to sadly go on and teach those ways to her daughters in order to protect them as well … Tragically, her daughters may actually meet a good man, who is then treated badly for doing only good to her … As for Texas, it is the same mindset within all of my country as the old and good ways have been discarded in the name of Women's Rights because fault was found in many areas that did need correcting … But … In the process the good things for women that were there were also discarded ... Somewhere, we must start over with that wonderful word respect … We all have the right to make choices, both men and women … I attest that we should teach respect for life in making right choices, rather than screaming to the world that we have Rights we are free to exercise in making decisions that are absolutely wrong and do not display respect for life, men, women, and children, in this world and in the safe haven sanctuary of the womb … Yes … I am Pro-Life and Anti-Abortion … At the same time respecting a woman's Rights to choose and make a choice of whether or not to respect the life within her, or to disrespect that life and abort her unborn child, denying it the same rights that Women around the world so avidly and desperately seek after … In saying this, I try to encourage women to do what is right, rather than empower themselves with their Women's Rights in a total disregard for human life that can never be undone, nor changed once done … Lastly, a man who fails to shoulder up his responsibility proves he has no respect for life and is lower than an animal who leaves its mate to fend for itself and its offspring all alone … Disgraceful state of affairs when a man behaves in such a manner ... Thank you sharing your heart penned so beautifully and honestly to page ...

[Abeer Tarek]

I loved your idea and your words..very unique however, I do not agree completely..as a Muslim I can assure you that Islam or Christianity or any other religion is not just about covering your entirety..religion is way more than that and as you can see I am a Muslim and I am not wearing the Hijab or anything it is a matter of choice and I absolutely love my religion but there's more to it than covering. I have massive respect for the people who choose to cover but again it is personal preference you do not have to be too religious or have no religion at all. It is much simpler than that. Nevertheless, I loved your poetry very much, you are really talented.

[Sandra Nair]

I am very happy that you have your own choice. There are many people who can only dream of it. And this poem was meant for them because I believe a writer should always stay with the truth and the unluckiest. We should always aspire of d world becoming a better home. Religion Is indeed good but it should not curb the freedom of its creator. Along with that I also wanted to point out the irony that even after millions of years things havent changed.

[Abeer Tarek]

A very powerful message indeed, I do agree with you and you have quite a mature mind..keep writing!

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you, Abeer.

[wordman]

well i can grant you these silly laws came from man,not god

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you, friend. I too agree with you. These laws came from man. As you the Religions were all made by man. Therefore all the customs were also made by man. God, who lives inside our hearts do not have any role in this and His name should not be dragged to this stupid beliefs.

Regards,
Sandra.

[wordman]

man drags God in to it to cover his tracks

[Sandra Nair]

Yes, you are right.

[God Girl]

The poem is great! Keep up the good work Sandra.

[Sandra Nair]

Thank you!

[God Girl]

You're welcome.