The Voice Of Women,2nd Edition Poem by Matloob Bokhari

THE VOICE OF WOMEN
Matloob Bokhari
Country: Pakistan
In the quiet dawn of history
Women had inferior position
With limited rights, seen subordinate to men
Their role confined to domestic sphere
Men thought her beautiful, believed her wise, dreamed her
Wrote poems to her, but history of men's opposition to
Women emancipation is interesting than the story of her emancipation
In medieval Europe, women were denied the right to property
Right to study, or participation in the public life.
In France, women were compelled to cover their heads in public
In Germany, a husband had the right to sell his wife
Women could neither vote nor hold elective office in Europe
Prevented from conducting business; could not exercise control over her children
No access to education; she was barred from professions
In Greece, women were beaten, raped; put under lock and key
In ancient Arab world, they were subordinate to men
Had limited rights in marriage, divorce and inheritance
Practices like infanticide were common in some tribes
In ancient India, female foeticide, infanticide, dowry,
Domestic violence, child marriage and sati were prevalent
They had limitations to study and listen to Vedas
They were subservient, quiet, homebound, confined to marriage
In the recorded history, only are isolated voices,
Who spoke out against the inferior status of women
Defenders of status quo painted women as superficial and immoral
Claimed that as soon as they begin to be your equals, they will become your superiors
Emerging feminists wanted to reshape society and restructure institutions
Proclaimed that women are intellectual equal of men if given access to education.
Radical feminism challenged the notion that women exist only to please men
Volley of opinion continued for more than a century
Enlightenment philosophers focused on the inequities Of social class and cast to the exclusion of gender
Liberal feminists declared suffrage as the sine qua non of women's liberation
Woman Suffrage Societies approached their struggle politely, with ladylike lobbying
Organized mass demonstrations, parades, and confrontations
Americans, British suffragists held that ballot would secure the equality for women
Theoretical discussion started about the origins of women's oppression
Full social, economic and political equality for women.
Proponents of women's rights rose against rape culture
Sexual violence, body shaming
.Employment discrimination, unequal pay, legal inequality,
Women began finding jobs as pilots, construction workers
And soldiers, bankers, bus drivers and teachers
Emerging feminists
Radical feminists
Liberal feminists
All asserted in one voice
Let us fly together
Let us break the chains of patriarchy
We are love, we are smile
We are care, we are sacrifice
We are mothers, we are daughters
We are women
We are women
Men wished power over us
We never wished power over men