I am a woman, A WOMAN WITH DREAMS!

 

I am a woman!

A woman full of dreams,

My future shines in my mind’s eyes;

“Reality” hits home

I move from office to office

How true can it be that I can’t find a job?

Find a job in a decent professional manner…

Why should I sell my dignity for a job?

…even then, I prove my worth.

In fairness, I should climb the position ladder

But no!

Not for a woman

Not that easy

A piece of me must go!

 

I am a woman!

A woman full of dreams,

But I sink

Sink so low, lower than I could ever have imagined

How did I end up trading myself for money?

If only anyone would talk to me

Offer me a startup…

This is not where I want to be

It started that night with her asking me to accompany her…

Introducing me to how “easy” money is made!

She called it clean money…

No! It is not clean, neither is it easy; every night a piece of me goes with every act…

But I fake the pleasure

I need the money

I am trapped!

 

Many women from my area survive on petty jobs

Daily hand to mouth!

If they fail to work, the household will sleep hungry

In the wake of COVID19 (Corona)

They are crippled

For all must stay home

Government instructions

Mother, sister, aunt, neighbour, stranger are among these many women

Life becomes unbearable as time goes by

Mother single handedly tends to the wellbeing of the household

Father abandoned family a long time ago

Mother cries herself to sleep

How will she keep family afloat amidst the hardship?

She learns of a trade she can have in her house, next door, behind closed doors

Mother watches faces of tear-streaked children, the yawns, stomachs that have sunk back…all from hunger

She sees no way out, she yields to the trade

Mother starts trading her body in exchange for food for the family

The children’s stomachs are filled, but it is not enough

Mother’s daughter has shown maturity

Her breasts just popped out

Mother introduces daughter to the trade

The money doubles

But, sometimes the “customers” refuse to pay

Claiming they didn’t enjoy

Daughter is shattered!

She becomes eternally melancholic

Mother is desolate, she is lost, and her eyes are blank

All the warmth drained from them

They need intervention!

Counseling and support!

But who can come to their aid?

 

Life is never a bed of roses,

But must it be like this?

How might we live in an equal sphere?

How can every government prepare for such pandemics, community vices and other natural disasters?

Shall we ever live in a world full of harmony?

One where one is not afraid of another…

 

A handful of women rally behind fellow women

Sometimes joined by men

With brilliant sparks of ideas

They help out a few

They can only wish to do more

Imagine a world where every woman is another woman’s keeper

A world where we value all regardless of gender and lift one another

Just imagine…

 

THROUGH THE EYES OF AYENYO Joanita