YOUNG POETS

Advocacy in Verse

 In this page we reproduce the two winning entries in the 1997 World Population Day poetry competition organized by the UNFPA Field Office in Fiji. Secondary school students were invited to enter a poetry contest on the topic ‘the girl child, women and opportunities’. As a souvenir of the efforts and thoughts of the students, the poems have been printed in a booklet entitled World Population Day 1997 : Poetry contest. The poems reflect in part the perspectives, hopes, dreams, aspirations and uncertainties facing today’s adolescents. ‘

Girl Child, Women and Opportunities

I see her weeping at the doorsteps,
Trying to forget the brutal punishment she received for speaking out.
She tried to hide her bruised face with her shaking hands,
Treating it all as a nightmare, even that shrill shout.

The cool breeze whispered into my ear,
You cannot change these happenings all alone.
People say women have always been the weaker sex,
To serve and be slaves is why they were born.

I escorted her to her house today, she feeling weak and scared,
Refusing to leave my side, she told me crying.
"My father abuses me day after day, I cannot bear it any more,
The pain I am in is killing me, help me I am dying."

My degrees will not come to my rescue,
If my life long partner tells me to stay home.
All my hard work, skills and talents will be buried inside me,
I would be jostled aside, left all alone.

Do I have a right to dream of a bright tomorrow?
Or would people use me as a doormat, just because I am a woman.
If women can be roses they can be thorns too,
Come on change the old script, compose a new one.

I see a vision which is fair and fortunate,
Many more female prime ministers and rape entirely wiped out,
Everyone recognised as human beings,
Race or sex should not be sorted out.
No more discriminating against women, everyone seen as one,

Movement without the fear of being abused and tortured.
The freedom to make decisions on your own,
To live our life as we wish, without being bothered.

To let our ideas flow as freely as the river,
To be given chances to demonstrate our skills and faculties.
To be corrected when we fall short of our doings.
And to be awarded a word of appreciation for our achievements.

Stand up to our rights when we are walked upon,
Show that we are no less than anyone else.
Attest that we can be trusted and are just as reliable,
Though many see us as just girls.

Give us an opportunity and we will put our strength to the test,
We will push the limits and produce results to our best.
Adjust the saying ‘women belong at home' to one that says,
‘Women can be acceptable where ever they want to'.

Sheetal Narayan, Form 6, Natabua High School,
Natabua, Fiji (Winning entry)

The Girl Child, Women and Opportunities

>From the time they are born,
They are regarded as a burden.
Discrimination begins even before life begins.
Female fetus are tested and aborted.
Threat of violence stalks their lives from cradle to grave,
In form of child abuse, domestic violence and rape.
Their lives and bodies are like toys and machines,
Played by men for pleasure, work and satisfaction.

Poverty has a woman's face.
70% of them are poor,
And many illiterate.
They get low status in family and in society,
And work longer hours then men,
Yet, are unpaid for all they do.
Their economic contributions are disregarded.

But still,

They are in all realms,
They cross all boundaries,
And they have proved themselves worthy
In many respects

"Women hold up half the sky", said Mao Zedong,
And they have showed it.
They share men's burden.
Shoulder to shoulder they work with them.
But are still discriminated against.
Many of their economic contributions remain
Unrecognised, unappreciated and undervalued.
They are not given their rights and powers,
Gender discrimination is still there.

Struggles by Women's movements are progressing,
Equalising opportunities between men and women,
Have proved successful.
Women have broken some barriers,
Doors to Education and health have opened rapidly,
But doors to economic and political opportunities are barely ajar.
Their growing success could fill the gap,
Proving a milestone in the struggle for equality and empowerment.

Shalini Prakash, Form 6PN, Rishikul Sanatan College
Nasinu, Fiji (2nd Place)