She

She paints her nails, a final brush of makeup and she’s ready for an evening out. The clink of her stilettos, the sway of her hips and the pride in her walk turns heads in every room she enters. She stands in the scorching sun when the morning comes, helmet in place, an onsite architect instructing her workers. She screams more than she speaks but she gets it done. She is angry in the face of injustice and takes to the streets, demanding for justice because she knows now that silence won’t save the world. She holds his hand as they walk together on a happy summer day, she steals glances at him, a little shy, a little excited and more than a little confused. She is a mess of muddled emotions because all she wants to do is pull him closer and tell him that he has her heart and she can’t seem to get it back. She makes a beautiful bride, radiant and divine, like a princess from distant lands. In the cloud of holy smoke, her eyes like burning orbs of sincerity, she glances at her husband, the man with whom her eternity is now woven. In that moment she shows him that her heart and soul is his, unafraid and passionate. The way only a woman can love. She cradles her newborn child, astonished she looks down at the miracle she holds in her arms, realizing that the meaning of her life has forever changed. In that moment of her metamorphosis, she proudly claims her new role as the protector of her bundle of joy. She will sacrifice her all for the ones she loves but she will not be denied the rights she was born with. She will vote, elect and run for elections. She will sing, dance, run and fall. She may own the largest company in the world or teach English in a rural school. Where ever she is, she will burn like fire, a fire that cannot be cooled by comfort or tamed by fear. Unstoppable and free.

Respect her and she will return your respect tenfold. Violate her and she will not be silenced. Intolerance flows through her veins now, rushing through her blood, it reminds her everyday that there is only one truth a woman must always believe in, equality. So when you try to force yourself on her in crowded buses, don’t expect meek acceptance and silence. Or when you mock her as the weaker sex she will not revolt back instead she will laugh at the ignorance of your beliefs. She holds a power whose worth she’s slowly understanding, a power to change the world. She is here to challenge every convention and every norm that decides how a woman should be and show the world all the things a woman could be .She may fall at times and that fall may break her a little, but she will get up, every single time she will get up, bruised but stronger. She knows that sometimes the bad news outweighs the good news and that horrors such as rape and violence are dark realities of today’s society, they are as real as she is and their fear haunt her everywhere from remote villages to bustling cities. But she still believes in salvation and even in the face of such darkness she searches for light. Who is she? She is you, she is me and she is every woman.

———— About the Author: This article is contributed by our intern, Ahana Roy Chowdhury.