Behind the Veil
She was born screaming into the world
her mother's wails accompanying her own,
into the dead of the night
She wasn't the boy they had wanted
but a girl,
just another mouth to feed
just another in need of dowry
She savours school
the few moments of peace,
without her mother screaming at her
about chores to be done and siblings to feed
But that was long ago...
when she was young,
she still was young
yet,
life made her old
She hides from the world
not by choice,
the blue burqa holds her captive
It hides her frames,
leaving only the smallest of passages to see from
denying her a voice,
a presence and her rights
Her life hasn't changed much,
since wearing that burqa
She still wakes up at dawn,
prepares food for her family,
and cleans the house for her husband
She feeds her son before moving on
Washing clothes and tending to almond fields
Her son toddles behind her
"Mama,"
he calls before stumbling
He picks himself and continues to trail after her
like a foal just learning to move
One day, he would go to school
One day, so too would she
by Kavya
her mother's wails accompanying her own,
into the dead of the night
She wasn't the boy they had wanted
but a girl,
just another mouth to feed
just another in need of dowry
She savours school
the few moments of peace,
without her mother screaming at her
about chores to be done and siblings to feed
But that was long ago...
when she was young,
she still was young
yet,
life made her old
She hides from the world
not by choice,
the blue burqa holds her captive
It hides her frames,
leaving only the smallest of passages to see from
denying her a voice,
a presence and her rights
Her life hasn't changed much,
since wearing that burqa
She still wakes up at dawn,
prepares food for her family,
and cleans the house for her husband
She feeds her son before moving on
Washing clothes and tending to almond fields
Her son toddles behind her
"Mama,"
he calls before stumbling
He picks himself and continues to trail after her
like a foal just learning to move
One day, he would go to school
One day, so too would she
by Kavya
*Burqas are veils worn by women which covers their entire boy with netting over the eyes. In Afghanistan, it is blue in colour whereas other Muslim countries have Niqabs, black garments that cover everything but leave a small strip exposed for the eyes.