In my motherland,

When a boy is born

Father feels blessed

When a girl is born

Mother is oppressed.

From the beginning…

A girl is viewed as a burden

She’s denied the rights to education

She is married off soon

And the in law become her final destination.

Father fears about her high cost marriage

All thanks to the dowry system (giving bride price)

That would leave him in debt and nearly perished.

This young teenager,

Would be handed to a stranger

She’d be dragged and forced

Beaten and abused,

By her in-laws and spouse.

She’d be treated like a maid

Doing bunch of housework

Yet no one will appreciate.

The great father who felt his trouble was over

By getting rid of his daughter

He never thought

How long can her tiny body stand the torture?

Perhaps a few months or years?

Then, she’d decide to end her misery

But where can she go?

Her father’s house is shut for her

Once married, she’s perceived a stranger

She belongs nowhere.

Being deprived from her rights

Neglected by her father

Battered by her in laws

She sees no choice but to end her life.

This is a tale of those naive young girls

Whose fate is written by the male figures

When they’re born into this world.