International Woman's Day
Today is Eight of March-
The International Woman's Day-
And I have been so busy celebrating,
Reading all those poems that I wrote in the past
To mark this special day,
That I almost forgot to write one today!
What can I say; the world has come a long way
A woman is her own master, mother and daughter,
She holds her reigns in her own hands
And steers her life the way she wants today...
But some of the old beliefs, and it is such a pity,
Remain, exactly the same
since the beginning of Time:
She is still the slave, the object of desire,
Of the all Supreme Male!
She still sweeps the floor, feeds the cows,
Cooks three meals a day...
She is still used and abused
Raped and sued
And 'made sport of'
as and when it suits
The fancy of men
Who strut about boasting
Of their modern ways
While in truth they are
The same beasts they were
since the beginning of their days...
And we say it is
the 'International Woman's Day'!
While the one on the street
Who trades her body
For a meal a day
Is not even aware
That there exists a Day,
She can call Her-Own-Day!
Author: Zoya Zaidi
Aligarh (UP), India
Copyright©: Zoya Zaidi
8th of March 2008
Notes: Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with the abuser usually someone known to her [1]- Nicole Kidman, Ambassador UNIFAM;
For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability [2].
In a 1994 study based on World Bank data about ten selected risk factors facing women in this age group, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria [3].
As for Rape, the world figures are:
USA: 89,110 ; South Africa: 53,008; Canada:24,049; Australia: 15,630; India: 15,468; Mexico: 13,061; UK: 8,593; France:8,458 .Just to name a few [4]
According to a recent study committee commissioned by the UN reveals: 70% of world's poor are women; Two out of three children not in school are girls; and that women own only 1% of the world's titled land (The Hindu Daily, 08.03.2008)[5]
References: [1][2][3] http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/facts_figures.php
[4] http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap-crime-rapes
[5]The Hindu Daily, 08.03.2008
Poetry by Zoya Zaidi
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Written on 2008-03-08 at 22:07
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