A letter to all girls and women.
This is for women who inspire. This is for women who have had a heartbreaking past but get up everyday to conquer their dreams. This is for women who have been through all kinds of Gender based violence, be it physical or emotional, but smile with stardust in their eyes, this is for women who deserve better. This is for women who were rejected, shamed, and disrespected by the society. This is for women who love deeply, who hold on tight to people they love and their children, this is for women who have been through hell, but have shown immense courage. This is for women who have been through hell but cried their hearts out. This is for women who are no longer with us.
This is for the girl next door, this is for the women who made history, this is for the women who are sitting next to me, this is for you and me. This is a letter to my old self, and a letter to my sisters all around the world.
To imperfect women who breathe life ten times harder,
You made your first baby steps to the world; you successfully crossed the first stair of not being killed off even before they are born. But hold on tight, the journey is going to be tough; life will throw in the darkest places and if you do not fight back, this world will consume you.
Society will tie you down, with invisible chains that hurt and hurt, but you have to break those free, and vibrate higher. The road ahead is full of bumps, and holes, and blackholes, but hold on tight. You are going to see the world outside you. It is bad out there with raging storms, but you probably figured it when you left home to go to school.
You will start noticing that you are and will be discriminated against, and being a girl is at times wonderful and sad. You will constantly fight for your own existence, to survive in this male dominated society. You will probably not understand why boys at your school spread sexist jokes, you will not understand why you were shamed for being you, for wearing what you want, for not abiding to gender roles constructed by the patriarchal system. You will also not understand why this boy did not give you closure; you will cry, a lot and think that something is broken inside you, that you are not enough; but again hold on tight.
You will probably go to university and life is going to rip you apart in ways you can never imagine. You will be thrown into a huge ocean; full of sharks, you are going to fall in love and get your heart broken. You will face sexism, sexual assault, and what not. I will pray with all my heart that you won’t but it’s all going to be okay.
When life gets overwhelming, take a deep breath, remember that as women we are powerful, and we have so much strength inside us that makes the world scared. But it’s okay, to cry sometimes, to be vulnerable because vulnerability is strength. You can break down and I’ll be there reminding you that you are not alone. But you have to gather every piece of your heart and stand back again. We got this.
It is going to hurt, but hold on tight. You are going to be alright, just hold on tight, and be strong for yourself, and for all of us. You will see that not every woman has your best interests at heart, you will see a culture of girl-on-girl hate, girls being pitched against each other, and lots of bad blood, but I want you to hold on the belief that there are women who will always believe in lifting each others up and empowering others. I want you to never lose faith in being a woman, and to never regret being one.
You are going to meet “The One” and get the job of your dreams or fulfil your dreams, however unconventional they may be, and if that is your happy ending, then I will be happy for you. If it’s not, then you will always have enough strength to start over again, with kindness and more love.
I know you reached a breaking point but listen to me, you will find deep down in your heart that strength to move on. Hang it there. Whatever lemons life will throw at you; harassment, assault, breakups, toxic and abusive relationships; you will feel hurt and empty, and sometimes you will feel like there is nothing more to life, and you will cry and eat lots of ice cream. After that, you have to get up, and conquer the world again. Believe firmly in your courage and strength, and never lose yourself.
Things are going to be difficult, you have to keep moving on fearlessly. You can crack at work, or on the streets, but hold on tight. Hold on again to your strength, to your light; it will guide you in times of need. You probably think that you do not have enough strength to walk out of a toxic relationship, or to report or to stand up for what you believe in, but believe me, you do. You have it in your every veins, in every breath, in every touch and in every bone.
Kill us before we are born. Rape us. Kill us. Assault us. Murder us. Discriminate against us. Treat us badly. Treat us as inferior. Crack sexist jokes on our face or behind our back. Shame us for being imperfect human beings, stalk us, pay us less for the same job, deny us our basic right to education or a seat at the decision making table, rob our career aspirations and dreams, beat us or emotionally abuse us, break our wings and heart, deny us our right to our own body, deny us our basic human rights, paint a sexist picture of us in the media, and deny our entire existence yet we will rise up, change the world, and continue to spread on the light. We got this!
