Arefa Baharat Saber
My daughter!
My moon.
My beloved:
Do not come here.
Except for the threads you will use to sew shoes,
The darkness of the night
And the chains they will put you in
For the “crime” of being a woman
No one will know you here.
They will groom you
For the pleasure of a man.
They will embellish your face
And perfume your hair
With the man’s favorite perfume
While he waits for you at his house.
Here, they will love you for your silence,
For your submissiveness in bed,
For your bent shoulders and your tame ways,
For staying at home and obedient to your husband.
No one will think to ask you,
“Do you love the man who plays with you like wax?”
No one will understand you.
No one will know your pain.
And if one day you open your mouth and scream:
People, I am a woman
The other half of the world.
Let me be free
For I was created free,
You will become Sahar Gul
Or Gulsum, or Parwana
Or Shakila, or Nadiaa Anjuman.*
Don’t come to here, my beloved.
My child.
My moon.
—
*Sahar Gul: an Afghan girl, 15, who was brutalized by her family for refusing to give into prostitution.
*Gulsum: A woman from Herat who was killed by her husband for preventing her daughter’s early forced marriage.
* Parwana: An eight year old girl from Faryab whose family wanted to sell in marriage to a 33 year old man. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs prevented this tragedy.
*Shakila: A young woman mysteriously killed inside the house of a member of Afghan parliament with an AK-47. Her case remains a mystery.
*Nadiaa Anjuman: An Afghan poet who was killed by her husband for writing poetry and participating in cultural events.
—
Read this piece in Persian here.