She (by Shivam Bahuguna)
The poem is my perceived narrative of what all women have to face. There are various rules and notions they are supposed to conform to. Sometimes it is a nagging persuasion to conform, sometimes it is blatant oppression. It is my lyrical effort to capture the essence of the varying struggles faced by the women of our nation, with the refrain being a curious question – what really makes a woman.
Written and performed for an open mic session at KMC.
SHE
Woman. Girl. Lady.
So many opinions
So many dictats
It makes me wonder
What makes a she?
She, who must adjust her scarf
Lest the piercing gaze
Makes her feel corroding away.
She,who can avail her worth
If she bears children
And has a pretty face.
She, who must bear the brunt
Of paying her husband
A dowry, yet be a slave.
She, who dares walk a mile
A book in her hand
While bullets fly her way.
Oh tell me. Someone please tell me.
This mysterious, resolute being of power.
What makes her so strong?
What makes a she?
Must she have long smooth hair
The Garnier-approved trait of femininity?
Must she have short, streaked hair to pander
The notions of manic pixie girl of dreams?
Is it vital that she performs pooja
Like a good girl everyday?
Does she have to carry a shy persona
Or be a damsel rescued by a brave?
I wonder what she thinks
When the netas in their palaces
Turn her body into a religious battleground.
I wonder what she thinks
When another little girl goes missing
Never, ever again to be found.
Will she be caged perennially
In an imposing base dichotomy
Of being an angel that can do no wrong
Or an immoral succubus that knows no bound?
Pedestals of praise and worship
Pits of lust and scorn
I wonder when they’ll let her be
A human, standing her ground.
Her being is often surrounded by chains
Chains that expect her to carry them
Chains that whisper sly promises of protection
Chains that seize her, violating her realm.
Yet she defies all. Someone please tell me
This mysterious, resolute being of power
What makes her so strong?
What makes a she?