Silenced By The World

I grew up, lost in a world that made no sense.
Being a woman—an unspeakable curse.
“No school for you,” they told me,
And no one to stand up, no voice to set me free.

When men passed, lower your head,
Avoid their eyes, or you’ll wish you were dead.
Bow when you give, bow when you take,
These chains in my soul, they made me break.

The need to be free beat on my chest,
My patience shattered when they laid out their request:
Plans to mutilate, to break me down,
Wait—does this body even belong to me now?

At a young age, I was called “rebellious,”
For showing them a world that wasn’t treacherous.
A world where I wasn’t caged or confined,
A world where my dignity wasn’t undermined.

Look at our children, their hearts filled with dread,
Fear is their shadow, hope’s long been dead.
All they know is silence and pain,
A woman’s mouth? It’s better left slain.

How can we raise a generation of peace,
When boys are taught that violence is the key to release?
When girls grow knowing they don’t have a voice,
And their worth is lost in a world that makes no choice.

Oppression rips away their sense of who they are,
Tells them they’re evil, leaves them scarred.
During their menses, they’re shamed and rejected,
Made to feel dirty, unwanted, neglected.

Growing up in this suffocating hell,
When you reach out, she’ll flinch, expecting to dwell
In the violence that’s always been her truth—
A smile’s a weapon, not a sign of youth.