A time not so far ago, when I was a girl all of 4;
I saw my little brother for the first time, for the rest of
my childhood he was my partner in crime,
No one told us to be aware of our genders then, but
instinctively I liked the Barbies and he the, He-man!
At the age of 10, one hot afternoon, there was a special
class organised at the school,
The girls of the class were taken to a separate room and
shown a bloody video with a sample of free tampons!
We hid it in our pockets and tiptoed back to the class, with
the boys hushing their voices and sniggering at us!
This is when it dawned on me that I am meant to be a woman!
At the age of 14, I had my first crush; the scent of the
rose, the giggles of stolen glances gave a rush;
The boy of my dreams walked to me and said “Loose some
weight and then we shall date!’’
The girl in me came crushing down, spiralling in a dizzy
spin of my own humdrum!
The teens were nauseating, with confused identities and low
self esteem;
Parents encouraged ‘’Let your mind rule over your body!, But
the heart said I don’t fit’, nobody cares!
That is when I found toughest to be a woman!
The beautiful 20s came, I entered medical school; gender
bias was thrown in the bin;
We were equal, dissecting human bodies alike;
prepared the same chemicals and took case histories with the same voice
I found my man, we formed a team and took things in the same
stride!
We educated women in the community about breast self
examination, taught about contraception, child birth and menopause; the men
never cringed and the women never shied; It was an ideal way to live, yay to
medical school!
The knowledge about women abuse and gender preference became
stronger and the woman in me became a feminist and fought against the societal
horrors!
Marriage and child came along the journey, the joys of
nurturing sang a whole different story,
The cuddles, and giggles filled my bosom; there was more and
more love that flew out of my heart every autumn!
As society orders; cover the head, wear the anklet, make
rounder chapattis and put your work on the backseat;
the man with me
celebrates the woman in me, and says feed my mind not the mouth! Climb as high
as you want and I will hold the ground!
Today as a mother, wife, friend, confidante, teacher,
healer, and doctor, I celebrate the fact
that I was made a woman; a lover, a fighter, a protector and a carer;
My roles are many and
my hands are full; May I be reborn each birth as a woman!
