“Take it easy on her, she’s just a girl!”,
A line I have heard too many times,
by too many "men".
A line that underestimates my strength,
Mine and every other woman's.
They repeat this line with no thought or hesitation,
Completely unaware of the fact that,
I am not “just a girl”.
I am a soldier in a battle this world has grown comfortable in.
We are not just girls,
We are ideas and inventions,
Problem solvers, and sportspeople,
We are talents and gifts,
We are poetry so patiently waiting to be heard,
Sportspeople so patiently waiting to be cheered for.
So no, do not take it easy on me because I am a girl,
But throw the challenges my way because Lord knows I have heard worse than your mansplaining, sir!
Do not spare me your strength because his abuse only strengthened me.
Do not “run like a girl” because you don’t know the first thing about a girl running home at night as he stalks in her shadow.
The stereotypes of a girl are far from true,
Yet we have found comfort in everything wrong,
So stop hating a feminist for being angry,
for they have every right to feel anger.
Stop hating the youth for getting offended,
for they have every right to be offended.
This generation is just smarter than what the world has grown to know,
A little bit of intelligence scares them, all they know to do is shut it down.
But not me.
Your arrows may have hit hard,
but here I am encouraging the women,
To peel away the signs put above our heads from years ago,
To stand for what we know is right,
To speak even when the world is telling us to be quiet.
Do not be afraid to start life on a fresh clean slate,
Despite what our ancestors may have moulded for us,
Not allowing what meets the eye to define your capabilities, your life and your future,
Because you are more than what the world expects you to become.
You simply have to make the choice,
You either walk down the fractured pathways of prewritten stories,
Or you walk down a brand new pathway where you get to decide on the bricks that construct it.
Will you be Just a Girl?
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