The big clock that hung against the wall ticked the hours away, as if clucking its tongue in disapproval at her barbarity; the obscene curses she chucked at anyone within earshot, the screams she spewed out like some vile, black liquid and the disarray of her limbs likened to that of a mutilated rag-doll, not in the throes of labor. And, through eyes as tightly clenched as fists, pushed, her stomach muscles wrestling with this alien yet familiar being trapped inside. It felt like pushing against a brick wall; painful, impossible. Bit by bit, feeling the mortar prying loose, the gap evolving into a cavern. And then - the head, cradled softly in the palms of the midwife, wrapped in sticky fluid. One last time, she squeezed her body, a welcome nudge, hello baby boy. The frown said it all; wrinkles unearthed from the tautness of her skin.
"A girl."
It rang with the finality of a gunshot, A She. The last twenty-four hours came echoing back, a fresh migraine without the antidote of good news. A tunnel without light. The Husband stepped inside, footfalls heavy with disappointment; the Mother refusing to meet his eyes, cooing softly some broken nonsense to pacify Her; Her wailing like a siren, having some glimpse of Its short lived fate; Her with her mother’s sequined eyes, and her father’s nose. It was a fragile thing; a miniscule 6 pounds of tender skin sitting on flesh that was not quite there yet. She refused to name it, even when its eyes blinked in heavy wonder, as if questioning; Who am I?
And so it remained unmarked, bound in a sterile white cloth equally as anonymous.
That night under a fully-cloaked sky, making their way through the empty streets, the hung lanterns which looked like fat, drunken faces lighting the Mother’s steps. She hugged Her loosely, while the Mother’s eyes ran up and down the road, looking for that old corner with its cozy, moss-lined recess.
Deja Vu. The same harsh breathing an uneasy staccato to the Mother’s ears, the familiar wriggling mass trying to escape Her arms. She was still, silent, filial; even when She settled her in that nest of aged newspapers, Her busy fingers eager to adjust the linen, tuck in the stray corners, anything but look into those accusing eyes. Suddenly taking off with the ground seeming to evade Her feet, bursting into a full run when the weak cry rose.
She would be Mother no more.
Each day, baby girls are chucked aside like litter. A noose fastened around their necks the second they enter a world. Their presence, a blemish. They, mere infants, have committed a mortal sin for being unable to continue the family name. Each day, women are subjected to injustice, their voices muted by an inferiority complex drilled into them.
Were I to change the world, it would be emancipated from the dogma that a He carries more weight than a She - a belief as old as the bones of the earth. This is the world I see in my mind's eye: each female born (her birth a celebration) with a solid education to arm her with knowledge and the license to live in the fullest sense of the word.
Never will one regard having double X chromosomes as a curse in my world for gender equality will reign supreme. The voice of each woman will be heard, shrill and clear. They will be able to speak out for their wants and needs that for centuries have been ignored.
No longer to be shunned by society through fingers pointed or malice whispered behind a cover of hands. Like a piece of furniture, she is labeled 'used'- her worth plummeting like the stock market the instant she was coveted. I will castrate the predators; women will pass through dark alleys without the fear of their bodies being mauled by the lust of men.
A woman's worth will be static in my world - not resting on her purity or the width of her childbearing hips. Judge them based on who they are, not by society's rules.
She will be equal in every way to our Her male counterparts.
She will be a citizen of a race that knows no prejudice.
And She will say; I am woman, I am proud.
Labels: Kwatra's, Short Story
11 mad rant(s):
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*applause*
If there would be such a world, life would be much better, no doubt.
i know i know...
I think its safe to say that (for this story at least) the feminist in me got out... ;P!
I really, really hate people who kill baby girls. Why kill because they have don't have a third member? What is wrong? Why do girls have to be inferior humans? Do these people take pride over life? What's so disgusting about a girl? Do they realise their mother was a woman? Do they realise girls are needed to for us to progress? Animals protect all of their young and yet those monsters of India and China kill their daughters. May lightning strike you spineless murderers.
Honour killings is another thing that should be purged. Imagine a father forcing a 14 year old son to kill his mother because she talked
to a male friend (true story from Jordan and the mother was shot to death in a bus stop). Why are these people so against women? Is it immoral to talk? I know you people treat women as your property. Death to all honour killers! You bring dishonour to the human race! If you people thing women are to be your possession to sex you, be your birthing machine and serve you, you ought not to live! I still remember a British Wahabi preacher shouting that women are made deficient in a British documentary.
Rapist especially pedophile child rapists-molesters-murderers also should be castrated. If you want to bang an own what's between a woman's legs let's allow a porcupine to neuter you! These monsters must be wiped out.
One day everybody will be equal. Sexism will be put to rest.
~multum in parvo~
actually i have a fabulous (if somewhat gruesome) idea!
Public castration followed by public flogging to anyone convicted of either of these three atrocities that Albert mentioned.
Whaddya guys think?
>:D
@arbitary juggernaut,
The degree of punishment should be concordant with the degree of the committed crime. That's how law works. Only then will we deter people from these kinds of animalistic behaviors.
But the punishment should also be balanced with a prevention method. Women need to be made aware of these kinds of issues and dangers facing them, and learn how to protect themselves adequately. To children, we need to teach them proper sexuality education so that they'll understand their bodies better and that they're less likely to evolve into grotesque members of society.
@comrade cripple,
"One day, everyone will be equal"? Not as long as the kind of people we have today still exist.
~verus rara avis~
I disagree maverick...
A brutal punishment is itself a valid deterrent against crime...
And beleive me i think women are WELL AWARE of the world they live in. And they way i see it it hasn't helped them one bit.
Look at it this way; Just because you know muggers are rampant doesn't mean that the knowledge will have stopped you from getting mugged.
The arbiter has spoken...
@arbitary juggernaut,
Brutal punishments should only be administered to criminals who have committed equally violent crimes. And only if they are proven to have done it in a court of law.
As a civilized society we must demonstrate that our behavior is of a level that is higher than these perpretators. And we do that by obeying the law as has been laid down by our Constitution.
And are women really well aware of the world around them? Walking obliviously on the street, in dark places, flashing their jewellery and trinkets, carrying handbags around as if they owned the world they lived in... seems to me like a completely different scenario from the one you speak of.
"Just because you know muggers are rampant doesn't mean that the knowledge will have stopped you from getting mugged."
True, but you cannot deny that education and awareness are extremely necessary, as tools in the forefront of the fight against such inhumane crimes against women.
Think about it this way instead: if boys aren't taught to respect women and accord them the rights and good treatment that they deserve, what will they grow into as men?
The Maverick listens...
~verus rara avis~
You mean to say that raping an innocent woman and infanticide are not brutal crimes? And if they are brutal crimes than they are only deserving of brutal punishment.
Such altruistic beliefs have no place in the real world. Do you think it civil to allow rapists or these insecticidal fathers back on the streets in a matter of years? They must be punished. And this punishment is just. Like the stallion unfit for breding shall we cut it from their flesh.
And as for flashing jewelry etc. as if we men don't. We bling too y'know...
And as for education. They are thought. It is just that they refuse to learn. And that is also deserving of punishment.
I desire peace, But fear will suffice.
-Arbitary Juggernaught-
@arbitary juggernaut,
Perhaps I did not make myself clear enough in my last comment, which has led you to misinterpret my meaning. I apologize for not clarifying my stand earlier, so allow me to explain myself here. =)
I completely agree with you that rapists and child murderers should be punished to the severest extent allowed under law. But the due process of law must be adhered to at all times no matter the crime.
Despite our emotions against these inhuman beings (which is well-justified, by the way), we cannot let them take hold of us in meting out punishment against criminals. Just as the law must sentence the guilty, so too must it protect the innocent. Hasty work could very well put innocent people to death for crimes they did not commit.
Men rarely suffer the extent of injury that women are exposed to daily because most of us are of stronger build and strength. Only the most desperate and mad scum would take on men, and they must also be suitably punished for their audacity.
As for the problem of ineffective education, it just proves that we have a long way to go before we develop a system that successfully instills good moral values and sexuality knowledge within ourselves.
Severe punishment may deter would-be murderers and rapists from destroying our society, but if preventive measures can be taken instead of merely prescribing a "cure" (in the broadest sense - technically brutal punishment wouldn't qualify as a "cure", rather as a "cleanup" effort), then why not?
Punishment must carry on to warn off those who would dare flout the law, but we must also care to look after our younger generations that they do not deteriorate into the same mindless animals we hate.
~verus rara avis~
Public humiliation by the voices of the religious, a hefty fine and a long prison sentence will work for honour killers. The public humiliation can serve as education to others. People will now realise that honour killing is dishonourable. The death penalty is not needed as the murderer has been humiliated of his honour.
Child molesters and rapist should be sentence to live in prison. Put them in the roughest part of jail. Let the other prisoner rape and brutally murder them. Trust me even criminals cannot live with a child rapist.
As for other rapist just jail them for twenty years. Castrate them and flog them 200 times. Tweak the sentencing according to severity.
Get it? Problem solved. As for education let Jared teach them. Hehehehe!
~multum in parvo~
[maverick] No need to apologize my friend, the fault was equally mine.
Perhaps i tend to be too brutal with my judgments. I now see your point of view.
I know it is important to punish the guilty and at the same time protect the innocent.
I beleive that if we incorporate the best of both worlds; your preventive measures through education and the like with my brutal and uncompromising punishment, the combined effects of this so called "prevention + deterrent + cleanup" method would be indeed eye opening.
I am merely proposing that the law should be amended to incorporate such punishments as that i have proposed. This includes making sure prosecutions and judgments be carried out with greater accuracy again to ensure the innocent do not suffer.
[comrade] Why stuff them in prisons so that they grow fat on our taxpayers dollars? and why let them perish soundlessly where their deaths are soon forgotten? Where is that so called public humiliation? Make them examples to the public!
"Mandatory Justice; All you need is a strong piece of rope and a tree to hang it from."
-Arbitary Juggernaught-
-2007-