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BECAUSE I AM A GIRL, I MUST STUDY – POEM

June 28, 2020February 23, 2021 by Milena Rampoldi

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