The Curses of Patriarchy
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you are a female,
your birth is a burden
I survived and thrived, flourished and bloomed
Confronted their stereotypes and challenged their misleading notions
I vowed that I will not accept their false binaries or phony divisions
I will keep demanding equal rights and opportunities to be a human
That is my firm declaration
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said your education is a drain,
It has made you in-vain
You will empty your family’s purse and then
You will move away when you get married to someone
I questioned their negative stereotypes and adverse presumptions
I opposed their entrenched superstitions
and challenged their harmful assumptions
I went to college to gain education,
I got all degrees, medals, and accolades
And walked out with distinction
Aiming towards the path of progression
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you are a woman you need to stay silent
Shut your mouth up and remain compliant
You have no right to make noise
You can’t raise your voice
I refused to remain obedient
I shouted, I wrote, I danced and I hopped
I defied, I rebelled, I resisted, I disobeyed
Because I chose the path of liberation,
I recognize my power, reclaim my freedom
Self-respect and love that is my assertion
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you have to cover yourself from top to bottom
Veils, jewelry, sindoor, bindi, saree, makeup,
we will decide your uniform
We dictate and you follow this is the compulsion
I said I decide the way I wanna stay, it’s my conclusion
I am not your slave, I refuse to bow to your oppression,
I am not a thing that you can own
I don’t need your pointless interventions
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you don’t need to go out, you stay at home
Staying inside the four walls of the house is your only occupation
Crossing the Lakshman Rekha is out of the permission
I broke all inept rules and regulations
I learned to fly, became a CEO, run big farms,
Excel in business, work in factories and set up my own craft
I choose to work in all male-dominated professions,
And achieve success in whatever I do with all my passion
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you can’t be seen in a public domain
We will molest you tease you, harass you, shame you,
Because that is our dominion
No said I, this will not deter me this is your hollow frighten
My courage got your fragility shaken
This planet belongs to everyone
No one needs your futile intrusions
I resolved to walk fearlessly on the streets,
On the roads at the workplaces all on my own,
Breaking all your rules is my determination
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said for a female marriage is a compulsion
We will decide whom to marry when to marry that is our declaration
I said I assert my choices and my selections
I marry when I want to, and with whom I want to, it’s my decision,
I need no redundant patriarchal interruptions
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you have no self; no identity of your own
Your existence is irrelevant, you are important to none
I use my skills and talents to earn fame and recognition
I proclaimed myself found my individuation
I need no benefaction
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said we will decide the sex of the baby or
when you will have an abortion
I said my body my rights, no interference from any one
Procreation, or abortion, all of that is my selection
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said divorce is not permitted, marriage is a sacred obligation
With no guarantee of my safety, wellbeing or protection
They pushed me to `adjust’ silently in a violent relation
Torturing and burning me for dowry that is their sole ambition
I walked away because forcing a vicious tie on me is a coercion,
Their masculine toxicity is indeed an intimidation
I refused to bow down
I can survive on my own, I need no superficial imposition
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you can’t remain single,
Rearing a child with no father, you are a humiliation
I rejected their negative undesirable notion
I raised my child on my own,
I need no certificate of my motherhood from any charlatan
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you are a bad woman,
A selfish slut who takes care of none
I raised my child, supported my old parents,
Cared for my loved ones
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you will be denied the right to own a property,
Land, house or any possession
you have to stay under male protection
I said I refused your discriminatory directions
I made my own home full of love, kindness and compassion
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you can’t be a politician,
You will not take decisions because lack the capacity to run a nation
I rose to the top to take national and global decisions,
To end all the wars and to culminate to all destructions
To make this world a peaceful place and to save nature and its creation
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you have no rights, no laws apply no legal protections
It’s our will and command that is your only destination
I said I will not obey your unjust orders
I declined to give in to your unwanted unreasonable instructions
I will write my own laws; I will pen down my own constitution
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said he is superior, she is inferior
Male supremacy prevails, which forces biased preconceptions
That is engrained for generations in every institution
I confronted the age-old hegemony, oppose all the privileges
And challenged the obstinate male-domination
Dismantled the toxic masculinity, and resisted sexism.
Shred the misogyny and disarranged the dogmatism
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said a man is a hunter and a gatherer,
And therefore, he is a protector and provider
This is a divine creation based on biological differentiation
I questioned them that this is their false assumption
Because this imagined version is of a feeble and an apprehensive person
Perhaps, he can’t reproduce and lacks the capacity of procreation
So, how can he counterfeit his powers when he has none
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said your will remain bound by the man-made religion
And will obey all its customs and traditions
I defied and disobeyed, shattered all stereotypes, and broke all chains
I use my passion to transform the patriarchal civilization
They can neither rob my dignity or pride nor could harm my reputation
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said we will use against you all institutions
State, business, law, policies or religion
Pitting women against themselves,
this is what we have had you conditioned
I said I will rip off all your devious designs
and dismantle all your deceitful narrow projections,
Nurturing a just world, that is my solution
It’s your end, and the time of your permanent termination
I laughed and move on
Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on
They said you witch, your laughing is ferocious,
This mocking hurts our fragile egos; it is savage and dangerous
I said laughing is an art of resistance, an act of power disruption
I lay the claim to the authority and to my solid foundation
Laughter is an anti-dose to all forms of oppression
It is indeed a step towards revolution
In me lies my courage, hope and conviction
There are unlimited possibilities that is my imagination
I laughed and move on
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