What's Holding Us Together

A letter to all girls and women. 

Let's be real: where would the world be without us? We are all life sources. The element that keeps homes together, a powerful and creative force.

This is for women who inspire. This is for women who have had a heartbreaking past but get up everyday to conquer their dreams. This is for women who have been through all kinds of Gender based violence, be it physical or emotional, but smile with stardust in their eyes. This is for women who were rejected, shamed, and disrespected by the society. This is for women who hold on tight to people they love and their children, this is for women who have been through hell, but have shown immense courage. This is for women who are no longer with us. 

This is for you and  me. 

This is a letter to my old self, and a letter to my sisters all around the world.

You made your first baby steps to the world; you successfully crossed the first stair of not being killed off even before they are born. But hold on tight, the journey is going to be tough; life will throw in the darkest places and if you do not fight back, this world will consume you.

Society will tie you down, with invisible chains that hurt and hurt, but you have to break those free. You are going to see the world outside you.

You will start noticing  that you are and will be discriminated against, and being a girl is at times wonderful and sad. You will constantly fight for your own existence, to survive in this male dominated society. You will probably not understand why you were shamed for being you, for wearing what you want, for not abiding to gender roles constructed by the patriarchal system. 

You will probably raise up as an adult but life is going to rip you apart in ways you can never imagine. You will be thrown into a huge ocean; full of sharks. You will face sexism, sexual assault, and what not. I will pray with all my heart that you won’t but it’s all going to be okay.

When life gets overwhelming, take a deep breath, remember that as we have so much strength inside us that makes the world scared. But it’s okay, to cry sometimes, to be vulnerable because vulnerability is strength. You will see a culture of girl-on-girl hate but I want you to hold on to the belief that there are women who will always believe in lifting each other up and empowering others. I want you to never lose faith in being a woman. Conquer the world again. Believe firmly in your courage and strength. You have it in your every veins, in every breath, in every touch and in every bone. 

You have to rise up and change the world to save mankind.

Dear women,

Who say they don't need feminism. The world does not revolve around you. It's International women's day. I was a young girl who grew up in rather privileged conditions or celebrated this in honor of all women around the world. Just because you are one of the lucky ones that doesn't make up for the millions of girls and women who are mistreated because of their gender.

Every time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women. And every time she ignores what is right in front of her and speaks against feminism we move backwards. So please you may not need feminism but there are enough women out there who do. 

At the end of the day, you can either focus on what's tearing us apart or what's holding us together

Keep fighting...