By Iyona Roy Biswas:
Why is it the way it is?
Why am I seen guilty, I might be innocent,
Why are these gender roles so omnipotent?
Why is she seen innocent, she might be guilty,
Why does she get all the sympathy and no one shows me pity?
A world where victims aren’t decided on probabilities,
Where morality isn’t a measure of femininity,
Is it too much to ask for?
Gender biases can’t you just ignore?
I was taught to respect women,
But what if she disrespected me?
Am I a sexist to have a different opinion?
So the only way is to agree.
Equality doesn’t need glory,
Evenly important it is to hear the other side of the story,
Toxic is a person not the gender,
Justice comes with faith which is nascent and tender.
This poem is part of Pratisandhi Foundation’s contest, ‘Waging Words‘. The contest was based upon a prompt of a picture whose theme was open to interpretation and the participants had to create a short story, an essay, one-liners, poetry, diary entries or any other medium of written expression. Read the other stories by Bhavya Pandey, Praneet Kaur, and Shriya Kataria.
The top four participants received a certificate and shout out on social media page. Find Pratisandhi on Facebook and Instagram. Head to their crowdfunding page here.