1) your grandmother tells you the story of the boy whose lambs were eaten by a wolf
you don't know lamb could be a little girl grazing her horses in a meadow
man can be the wolf keeping his eye on her
tracing her movements
sharpening his claws
so you listen carefully to the story
until you fall asleep
and wake up next morning to the news that wolf has done his job
and villagers couldn't save the lamb
2) 10 years fast forward
and your daughter tells you
her social science teacher taught her
that india is the developed country with the greatest infrastructure
and fastest vehicles
and biggest manpower
and the culture is called rapeculture here
and there's this subject in her school
called 'how to not demand'
where they are taught how to move out from house covered from head to toe
and murmer
they are no longer told the stories of lambs and wolves
but nirbahaya
and kashish
and zainab
and given homework to write five points
where nirbhaya went wrong while boarding the bus
and what kashish wore in the marriage
that provoked her rapist
SHE COULD NEVER FINISH HER HOMEWORK
so you teach her alphabets where
A stands for 'asifa was 8-year-old and innocent'
B: boldness is not shameful
C: character is not determined by the fabric
DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX
Y: your skin is not an apology
Z: zainab was 7-year-old and innocent
but you're afraid
so you play magic tricks
to reverse the growth of your daughter's breasts
because bigger the breasts, more the eyes on them
and you're afraid of the wolves
3) back to the present
you tell me
the government is not at fault
but just the mentality
you show me the newspaper headlines of growing tension between communities
saying this is exactly what the rapists wanted and people like 'you' are giving them
by calling out on government
you say don't bring stupid things into it
they don't need attention
cut the argument
change its face
an incision here
a little there
make it look like something that's apolitical
but I'VE BEEN BORN IN A COUNTRY THAT'S POLITICAL
and asks me to choose who should be in the position to save lambs from wolves
and if same people start feeding wolves with the lambs
then i'm not going to mould my argument into something that sounds pleasant
and APOLITICAL to your ears
because
we've spent 70 years not paying enough attention
4) because i don't want to play magic tricks on my daughter
and tell her that having vagina is not a privilege
being a woman is not a privilege
because i don't want my daughter to learn that rape is 21st century top subject
and still FIRs are not lodged
women go home unheard
and hang themselves down the ceilings
because death is better than humiliation
because candle march is a ritual
and even before the candles melt down
there's new 8-month-old raped by her relative
or 60-year-old raped by neighbour during holi
and somewhere some leader comments that 'boys make mistakes and it's okay'
like having penis is a victory
and still you ask us to wait for the mentality to get changed
and not expect a concrete step
even if it takes 1000 years
and no girl is left to tell you that she is afraid of going to school
because the son of MLA,
who is already accused of rape,
follows her
5) write the name of asifa on your left cheek
and zainab on right
write the name of nirbhaya on your forehead
and cover your whole body with all the names you've heard in the newspaper, TV debates or anywhere else
and tell me it's not covered
tell me there's still some space left
tell me there's still some humanity and shame left
tell me there has been no killing
tell me this is not rapeculture
tell me there would be no need of teaching your daughter alphabets
where A would not stand for apple
but asifa
Z would not stand for zoo but zainab
tell me by the time
you finish reading this poem
no girl would
be abused
or molested
or raped
somewhere out there.
Author Bio:
Ayushi Kainthola is an 18-year-old woman, currently pursuing English honors. To her, writing is her personal space where she is allowed to be herself. Writing liberates her. She enjoys books, tea and a good conversation. Ayushi is happiest when she finds these three things together.
you don't know lamb could be a little girl grazing her horses in a meadow
man can be the wolf keeping his eye on her
tracing her movements
sharpening his claws
so you listen carefully to the story
until you fall asleep
and wake up next morning to the news that wolf has done his job
and villagers couldn't save the lamb
2) 10 years fast forward
and your daughter tells you
her social science teacher taught her
that india is the developed country with the greatest infrastructure
and fastest vehicles
and biggest manpower
and the culture is called rapeculture here
and there's this subject in her school
called 'how to not demand'
where they are taught how to move out from house covered from head to toe
and murmer
they are no longer told the stories of lambs and wolves
but nirbahaya
and kashish
and zainab
and given homework to write five points
where nirbhaya went wrong while boarding the bus
and what kashish wore in the marriage
that provoked her rapist
SHE COULD NEVER FINISH HER HOMEWORK
so you teach her alphabets where
A stands for 'asifa was 8-year-old and innocent'
B: boldness is not shameful
C: character is not determined by the fabric
DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX
Y: your skin is not an apology
Z: zainab was 7-year-old and innocent
but you're afraid
so you play magic tricks
to reverse the growth of your daughter's breasts
because bigger the breasts, more the eyes on them
and you're afraid of the wolves
3) back to the present
you tell me
the government is not at fault
but just the mentality
you show me the newspaper headlines of growing tension between communities
saying this is exactly what the rapists wanted and people like 'you' are giving them
by calling out on government
you say don't bring stupid things into it
they don't need attention
cut the argument
change its face
an incision here
a little there
make it look like something that's apolitical
but I'VE BEEN BORN IN A COUNTRY THAT'S POLITICAL
and asks me to choose who should be in the position to save lambs from wolves
and if same people start feeding wolves with the lambs
then i'm not going to mould my argument into something that sounds pleasant
and APOLITICAL to your ears
because
we've spent 70 years not paying enough attention
4) because i don't want to play magic tricks on my daughter
and tell her that having vagina is not a privilege
being a woman is not a privilege
because i don't want my daughter to learn that rape is 21st century top subject
and still FIRs are not lodged
women go home unheard
and hang themselves down the ceilings
because death is better than humiliation
because candle march is a ritual
and even before the candles melt down
there's new 8-month-old raped by her relative
or 60-year-old raped by neighbour during holi
and somewhere some leader comments that 'boys make mistakes and it's okay'
like having penis is a victory
and still you ask us to wait for the mentality to get changed
and not expect a concrete step
even if it takes 1000 years
and no girl is left to tell you that she is afraid of going to school
because the son of MLA,
who is already accused of rape,
follows her
5) write the name of asifa on your left cheek
and zainab on right
write the name of nirbhaya on your forehead
and cover your whole body with all the names you've heard in the newspaper, TV debates or anywhere else
and tell me it's not covered
tell me there's still some space left
tell me there's still some humanity and shame left
tell me there has been no killing
tell me this is not rapeculture
tell me there would be no need of teaching your daughter alphabets
where A would not stand for apple
but asifa
Z would not stand for zoo but zainab
tell me by the time
you finish reading this poem
no girl would
be abused
or molested
or raped
somewhere out there.
Author Bio:
Ayushi Kainthola is an 18-year-old woman, currently pursuing English honors. To her, writing is her personal space where she is allowed to be herself. Writing liberates her. She enjoys books, tea and a good conversation. Ayushi is happiest when she finds these three things together.
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