Let Me Whisper to You in My Voice

By Nahid Walizadda

Let me whisper to you in my voice

I am a little bride

I was born in a place where my voice shouldn’t be heard

The place that immediately claims ownership of me

It sees my hopelessness

A body that broke under the price you put on it

It holds over me, takes my heart, my dreams, my rights, my dignity, my life

I am an object which is sold

A heart to be ignored

A thing to be broken

If I knew that you would sell me like a broken object

I would have returned hungry from the table

Like thousands of girls, I am caged

Like thousands of girls, I must commit suicide if there is no one to support me

I lost my way in the darkness, this place where no light shines,

A place where I suffocate from the lack of the air I breathe

Forgotten

Look at me just once, don’t turn your eyes away

Look at me, I am innocent

Give me my rights

Take my hand and release me from this tradition where girls remain silent

Don’t cover my sad face with makeup

I am a girl, I am God Gifted

I have a heart