Annual Privilege Coupon for WOMEN :)

I step out wearing a dress with my lips painted red,

Doesn’t she look a little slutty, they murmur..

I have coffee with a guy, hang out with my male colleagues,

They do not take a second to question my character..

I shouldn’t be so friendly & comfortable with men unknown,

But marrying a complete stranger is tradition they tell me..

What’s wrong with single women having a sexual partner I ask,

They call my freedom of thought something too immoral..

If I sleep with someone, what I actually lose is my virginity,

But they relentlessly blame me for I lost my honour too..

Men I work with, want me to give everything my best shot,

But they reduce me to just nothing dare I speak my mind..

My salary cheques are testimony to my hard work & potential,

But they laugh at the mere idea of me managing my money..

I want to make my career and marry post the age of 30 I say,

Too much ambition is not good for girls they remind me..

When I put my foot down against the concept of dowry,

They gasp at how huge a burden I am on the entire family..

If I decide to be a mother and working woman at the same time,

They ridicule me for my total disregard for motherhood..

When I say I wish to be a home-maker post marriage & kids,

They openly mock my supposed lack of aim in life..

Whether I work or not, my home should be my first responsibility,

This doesn’t apply to my husband though, is what they say..

I must wear the vermillion as a mark of a wedded woman,

The husband having an affair, is not a big deal I am told..

My vagina has the ability to give birth to a human being,

But when it bleeds each month, I am impure, they declare..

If I am carrying my husband’s child, I should proudly flaunt,

But physical marks of his abuse must be under cover I am warned..

It doesn’t matter if I am thin or fat, doesn’t matter if I am fair or dark,

They never miss out on a single opportunity to body shame me..

Every day I am insulted, mocked, abused, tortured, raped,

But keeping shut is what preserves my dignity they say..

I ask for the liberty to live my life that way I wish to,

But they constantly tell me what to wear and how to live..

When I tell them these shackles suffocate me a bit too much,

You were born to live in bondage, is what they retort with..

I have an yearly coupon that comes with a 24-hr expiry though,

I am showered with love & gifts, my existence celebrated,

They give me the privilege to feel happy & special for a while,

I don’t need it but they give me an annual “Women’s Day.”