Featured Image: Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Over the sewing machine
Among the steady hum
Of the needle gliding into the fabric
I hear
‘Ladkiyon ko zyaada nahi parhaana chahiye
Unki soch badal jaati hai.
Ladkiyaan zyaada parh leti hain
Toh bahu banna bhool jati hain.’
Girls shouldn’t study too much
Their way of thinking changes
If they study too much
They forget how to be a daughter-in-law.
And I thought, perhaps that is so.
Perhaps
When girls step out
They learn to step up
They learn their rights
They learn to refuse servitude
In the guise of a marriage
Mothers, be warned
If you educate your girls, they
will stand taller
will ask for equal rights
will be harder to oppress.
They will not accept the yoke their in-laws might offer
Fathers, take care
If you give your girls equal chances, they
Might start thinking for themselves
Might become independent and confident
Might be more aware
They will learn to recognize slavery when they see it
Daughters, be warned
Education is a pill
Read the side effects before you swallow
It might cure you
Make you more able than they desire
Open up new pathways
That they do not want you to tread
You may no longer be the daughter-in-law
That they dreamed of
You won’t be able to take things lying down
No more kicks to the shin
Or slaps to the face
You may have to compromise on their approval
Their praise, their pleasure
Maybe you won’t be a good daughter-in-law
Because you weren’t meant to be fettered
Marriage is all about compromise
Whether you choose it or not
And it will make all the difference you never dared to think of.