By Dr Kusumita Mukherjee Debnath
Woman you call it your own
But it’s your worst foe.
You own it
Yet you’d rather disown it any day.
Change is the greatest constant
One thing though is an aberration to the rule
The female body: is, was & will be
The locus of lascivious attention.
World is not a stranger to war
Many armies have birthed rivers of blood
Mothers robbed of children
Girls of their girlhood.
History has seen empires succumb
Also the fall of woman.
As if she were a vessel to unload violence
Not once or twice, but always.
Her meat satisfies the war cry
As if one’s violation could bring honour!
Wounding her body
Satiates the warmongers.
“Dishonour their women,
This will bring them to their knees”
She is the coveted battleground
A site to display valour.
This would not be so
Had she not been considered as property.
As property she can be looted and plundered
Be the harbinger of disgrace to her owner.
The conquered woman
Subdued by fear and disgust
Wanes away disregarding news of victory and defeat.
For her, all is over.