Women are human too!
Since childhood, living as a girl and a woman in my country has brought many challenges. I have always tasted the bitter humiliation of being a girl.
We have always been told: “You can’t do this because you’re a girl” or “This is not appropriate for girls.” But beyond all this, I firmly believe that no one should be limited because of their gender. Why can’t we understand that women are just as human as men and deserve their human rights equally?
I have a beautiful dream: that being a girl should not be a crime; that we should not be restricted and imprisoned because of our gender, that we should not be categorized and judged without considering our thoughts. I want being a girl to be an honor, for all women to be content with their womanhood, and never to have fewer opportunities than men.
I want to go to school, freely and happily, without fear. I want to be free, to speak, to make decisions, and to choose for myself. I want to shape my own future. I want to wear beautiful clothes without being condemned and oppressed for it. I want to live the way I desire. I want to spend many days reading and writing without it being labeled as ‘forbidden’. And I know that every girl in this world wants the same.
I believe that men and women are equal and that women’s rights must not be violated. The violation of women’s and girls’ rights, formally and without question, is a violation of human rights. And I believe that as autonomous beings, humans should be able to decide about their own lives.
I no longer want to see women forced to leave their education, endure forced marriages, child marriage, or any form of violence. Enough is enough! I no longer want to see women in our literacy classes with bruised and wounded faces, silently enduring their pain.
Women are human too!
Tahera K.
-Guest Writer
Girl Museum