Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. #endfgm
Therefore, it seemed appropriate to share this today, in commemoration.
We do not belong to ourselves
From the womb, our fate is decided
Before we kick, our future foreshadowed
“She will learn to cook and clean”
“She will be respectable and smart”
“She will not be wayward”
“She will be a good wife”
From the womb, our fate is decided
Before we kick, our future is foreshadowed.
We do not belong to ourselves
Our dreams, aspirations, and agency are buried
No real freedom and the walls around us are rigid
Like our mothers and their mothers before us
We tuck the darkness between our weary bones
We paint our faces and plaster on a fake smile
Sometimes we rebel and try to fight, but
Our dreams, aspirations, and agency are buried
No real freedom and the walls around us are rigid
We do not belong to ourselves
Our bodies are cut, marked, and pressed down
With no regard for our safety, pleasure, or agency
A reminder of who owns and controls us
A reminder that we are not human enough
To exist without being subjugated
To exist if we do not play our exact role
We do not belong to ourselves
From the womb, our fate is decided
Before we kick, our future foreshadowed
Our dreams, aspirations, and agency are buried
No real freedom and the walls around us are rigid
We do not belong to ourselves
