One day, alongside the road,
I saw a woman, with water in her hands.
I was in the car, with air conditioning, but still I felt warm,
but that woman, she must bring water from at least 100 meters.
I looked at the future of Afghan women—
We call for changes, we claim we’ve made changes,
but I look to the life of that woman in the village.
She has to bring water, collect wood
no matter if it is hot or cold for her,
she has to do it because she has children.
Children need water and food,
she is a poor woman like many other women,
she does not have an umbrella like rich women to protect herself from the sun,
she does not have sunglasses to protect her eyes,
she does not have new shoes to cover her feet completely.
The small economy of her family, violence, and hard living are what she has.
Her children are deprived of education,
her husband, when he cannot find a job, returns home and beats his wife.
Who is responsible for all of this hardship for Afghan women?
Our leaders fight, our parliament members fight against each other.
Who will think about these women and children?
No, no, and no answer to my question
because everyone cares about their own, their position.
There are many victims and the victims are women—
Women, Women, Women, Women, Women, Women—
but stop thinking about tribes, ethnicity, and gender.
Think about all Afghans.
By Seeta
Photo: Sayaed Jan Sabawoon (RFE/RL)
Beautiful – giving me a vision i would not otherwise have known.
This is gorgeous – and so true. I only spent a very short time in Afghanistan but women are the lowest on the totem pole their and it is absolutely heartbreaking. Thank you Seeta for this poignant piece of poetry! -Martina
Seeta – Great Poem, and I am sure sad and true also. Please continue your writing, you are very good. Best Wishes,
Randy M
Crystal Lake IL, USA
very immediate and evocative. the clash of circumstances — one woman driving in a car with air conditioning and peering thru sunglasses in constrast to another woman trudging miles and miles simply to bring water to her children — is poetic in and of itself.
Brings to light the life of an Afghan women. Well done.
Seeta, Thank you so much for your beautiful, heartbreaking poem. I hope that someday, partly as the result of poems like yours, things will be better for Afghan women because you helped to shine the light on their reality. Thank you again.
Thank you for making me think today!
Seeta – beautifully captured. Your images are chilling.
This phrase, especially, sticks with me: “The small economy of her family, violence, and hard living are what she has.”
And your leaders fighting each other is true in America, as well. Many of us here ask the same questions as you do.
Well done!
Shows how far we all still have to go – as a world, as human beings. Nice work.
How touching and brave of you to explore and express yourself so beautifully. I hope the suffering of you and those who endure day-to-day somehow comes to a happy, peaceful end. Thank you for sharing with the world. One voice can make a difference.
Seeta this is so powerful… and heartbreaking
Such a lovely poem, Seeta. The line “I saw a woman with water in her hands” is so arresting, so very beautiful. Keep writing!
I loved the juxtaposition of the person in the car (you) with the woman carrying the water; that kind of honesty, the kind that recognizes another’s status, vis-a-vis one’s own, with compassion. I especially loved the repetition of “she does not have an umbrella … ,” “she does not have sunglasses … ,” “she does not have new shoes …” These images will stay with me.