Should a woman be seen and not heard?
Excluded from the center, confined to the margin?
A shadowy being;
A foe to friendship;
Termed "not smart;"
Stupid!
An instrument of the devil;
A weaker vessel;
Mindless; irrational; jealous; mutilated; hysterical.
Stereotyped by norms and values.
As culture may have it.
How can culture understand, when it cannot see things through her eyes?
Yet, through the eyes of her ancestors.
Male dominated!
Rules passed down, obeyed, by her mother's mother before her.
Confined in a space.
Good for the chores; the kitchen they say.
Not considered equal.
To be submissive.
Oppressed!
Lack of voice, with no choice.
Raped; beaten.
Discriminated against as a child.
Forced into marriage; as young as 10.
Maybe not!
Placed under the rule of a man against her wish.
Tis a shame for a woman to be alone.
Narrowed to insignificant space in the affairs of society.
Cursed when barren.
A taboo, if with child without a man.
How can culture feel the depths of her consciousness?
Her strength?
Her impulses?
Her reasons?
Her pains?
When judged by societal norms and values.
To be seen and not heard.
Yet, to endure in silence, because of culture.
My culture!
© Naomi Kamara