In my country
No lane is named after a woman
Yet the houses lining these streets
Are crowded with women who suffer
In my country
No hospital carries a woman’s name
But maternity wards
Brim with grieving women
In my country
Women are denied freedom
Confined like animals to cages
In my country
Women are shadows
Silent and unseen
In my country
Women are shrouded non-beings
Poor women!
How do we live
With our anger and rage
In my country
How unfortunate
Is the life of a woman
Shakiba N.
Photo by J. McDowell.
Thank you for giving voice to the “anger and rage” that many women must feel about never being honored or appreciated in their society. I hope that change will come soon and women will be out of the shadows — free to follow whatever path they choose.
Thank you Nancy
It depends on countries and cultures. Here in South America in natives areas lakes, mountains and river are always in feminine. Mother lake, mother mountain, mother river.In India often too like Mother Ganga.
Yes I know but in Afghanistan it is not same here women are a slave and men call them defective mind.
Women should be able to have freedom and the same rights as men. I find this very unfair that in some countries women are restricted to express themselves and just do whatever they want. Women are also human beings who should get a fair chance at life instead of being restricted to only a few things. Men treated women as property, which is definitely not a right thing to do to anyone. People should treat others by how they want to be treated. I am glad that everything now days is improving everywhere in the world. Eventually, women would get their own freedom in counties that are still developing today.
After reading this passage, I feel absolutely sympathy with the women in Afghanistan. They have little freedom, and few men in Afghanistan respects women. I really like how you use simile to describe women there, which is “Confined like animals to cages”. The woman are not treated as fair as men in Afghanistan, and some men even regard the women’s position like a slave which should serve the men all the time and obey what the men asked them to do all the time. I really don’t like this society, because I think woman are also human. They also have brain and have their own perspective, and in a lot of times, their opinions are better than men’s.
Thank you for sharing this poem. This poem clearly shows how much women suffered and still are suffering in Afghanistan. The repetitive structure where the poet began every stanza with “In my country” really emphasizes how women are suffering everywhere, yet no one pays attention to them. The repeating phrase also made the situation seem relevant and personal to me, because this is not just a random country but a home for so many people. I was shocked by many of the images the poet shows through this poem, especially about how women don’t have any freedom and are “confined like animals to cages.” This really shows how women are treated as property, and how powerless they are. I think everyone should read this poem: the people in Afghanistan should read this poem to spread awareness about how women are suffering so that they can change their ways, and other people such as Americans should use this opportunity to think about how lucky they are and then find some way to help out.
Dear Shakiba, thank you for writing this poem. I believe everyone who has read this poem will be touched by your heartbreaking words. Throughout your poem, the injustice in Afghanistan is emphasized. Your words have not only deepen my understanding in the situation of Afghan women, they have also torn my heart apart. I can never imagine how a women are confined and treated like animals. I feel blessed to be born in a country where men and women are equal. However, at the
same time, I am sorry for what you have experienced. Nobody should have been treated like a property! I hope in the near future, people around the globe will all understand this idea….