BECAUSE I AM A GIRL, I MUST STUDY - POEM

BECAUSE I AM A GIRL, I MUST STUDY - POEM

A father asks his daughter:

Study? Why should you study?

I have sons aplenty who can study

Girl, why should you study?

The daughter tells her father:

Since you ask, here’s why I must study.

Because I am a girl, I must study.

Long denied this right, I must study

For my dreams to take flight, I must study

Knowledge brings new light, so I must study

For the battles I must fight, I must study

Because I am a girl, I must study.

To avoid destitution, I must study

To win independence, I must study

To fight frustration, I must study

To find inspiration, I must study

Because I am a girl, I must study.

To fight men’s violence, I must study

To end my silence, I must study

To challenge patriarchy I must study

To demolish all hierarchy, I must study.

Because I am a girl, I must study.

To mould a faith I can trust, I must study

To make laws that are just, I must study

To sweep centuries of dust, I must study

To challenge what I must, I must study

Because I am a girl, I must study.

To know right from wrong, I must study.

To find a voice that is strong, I must study

To write feminist songs I must study

To make a world where girls belong, I must study.

Because I am a girl, I must study.

Kamla Bhasin