Battlefield

Thousands of women
at this particular point of time
Are writing poems about oppression and freedom
The very fact that they chose to write
instead of speaking out loud
speaks volumes.

Silence is truly an embellishment
reserved solely for women
Who better carry this cross
than wombs that birth men
who sometimes birth monsters within.

Thousands of women
are subverting history
By carrying out a rebellion in this very silence
By refusing to do house work alone
By secretly reading books hidden by male egos
By reclaiming streets deemed too dangerous
By shortening their skirts
To match the length of respect
predators hold for them
irrespective of clothing
Every beautiful colour contorting
in this deafening silence
To paint a picture that reeks of them
and them alone.

If the other side is not the enemy
Then why are they afraid of the battle that brews
with every advancing second
Dethroning privilege is not without bloodshed
It’s not an act of war to do so
It’s a right.

And if their other side is not actually a separate side in this fight
It should not be afraid for the demons that will be slain
It should not be empathetic with the guilty
who is brought to the guillotine
It should not condemn us to silence
For even in silence, we’ve learnt to rise.

Sukeerat Kaur Channi is a third year student of Political Science at the University of Delhi.

Featured image credit: Alysa Bajenaru/Unsplash