This is a post for in association with CSAAM.
Kuki,
I write this as I sit in the parlour. Waiting for Angela to turn me prettier…waiting for her to do her magic. Yes, I like looking pretty. Don’t you?
But as I write this, I feel lost.
She was Nirbhaya and Damini a few months ago. Yesterday she was Gudiya, Masoom. Today she is another four-year-old, seven-year-old. Months ago she was a girl in her twenties and now, she is getting younger. Younger, from between her childhood.
As I type this, I can’t but wonder who it will be tomorrow. And I hope there is no tomorrow. May the world end.
Kuki, I will take you to a parlour when you are old enough. I will tell you to dress well and look beautiful always. To never let the world know your worries through your shabby clothes and unmade hair. Life is too short and precious to live in fear.
I want you to know that you have the power to say no. To scream. No matter how old you are. It might not be in our capacity to avoid barbaric acts and crimes. But similarly, no one has the right to violate you. Or anyone.
As I write this to you, I pray you never get there. But if you ever do, whoever it might be – at the hands or presence of whom you feel uncomfortable, feel free to say so. Yes, it is important that you respect elders, in fact everyone – not because they are older to you, but for their actions and thoughts. Since they are supposed to be more level-headed that you are, supposed to be more wise and experienced. But some do not learn lessons as they age, they only create lessons for others to learn from.
Kuki, I might be a paranoid mother, I might be strict now and then, I might be irrational in your eyes (though I hope not) – but trust that I will always trust you. If you feel something is not right, it is more than often correct. Respect your thoughts and feelings more than you’d be tempted to as you grow up.
This isn’t a perfect world to live in, Kuki. But I want you to. I wish I could change the minds of the violators, but I cannot. I can help you face this world. Face what might be expected. But there is a blind spot out there. I accept that realization with fear. A blind spot that could hurt you beyond repair, a blind spot that could constitute of people who love/hater/do not know. I pray you never get to that blind spot. And if you do, I hope your senses are wide open and alert then. And that I am accessible.
No touch that feels uncomfortable is right, Kuki. No matter who touches.
Never let anyone trespass you as long as you can.
Love
R
Kuki,
I write this as I sit in the parlour. Waiting for Angela to turn me prettier…waiting for her to do her magic. Yes, I like looking pretty. Don’t you?
But as I write this, I feel lost.
She was Nirbhaya and Damini a few months ago. Yesterday she was Gudiya, Masoom. Today she is another four-year-old, seven-year-old. Months ago she was a girl in her twenties and now, she is getting younger. Younger, from between her childhood.
As I type this, I can’t but wonder who it will be tomorrow. And I hope there is no tomorrow. May the world end.
Kuki, I will take you to a parlour when you are old enough. I will tell you to dress well and look beautiful always. To never let the world know your worries through your shabby clothes and unmade hair. Life is too short and precious to live in fear.
I want you to know that you have the power to say no. To scream. No matter how old you are. It might not be in our capacity to avoid barbaric acts and crimes. But similarly, no one has the right to violate you. Or anyone.
As I write this to you, I pray you never get there. But if you ever do, whoever it might be – at the hands or presence of whom you feel uncomfortable, feel free to say so. Yes, it is important that you respect elders, in fact everyone – not because they are older to you, but for their actions and thoughts. Since they are supposed to be more level-headed that you are, supposed to be more wise and experienced. But some do not learn lessons as they age, they only create lessons for others to learn from.
Kuki, I might be a paranoid mother, I might be strict now and then, I might be irrational in your eyes (though I hope not) – but trust that I will always trust you. If you feel something is not right, it is more than often correct. Respect your thoughts and feelings more than you’d be tempted to as you grow up.
This isn’t a perfect world to live in, Kuki. But I want you to. I wish I could change the minds of the violators, but I cannot. I can help you face this world. Face what might be expected. But there is a blind spot out there. I accept that realization with fear. A blind spot that could hurt you beyond repair, a blind spot that could constitute of people who love/hater/do not know. I pray you never get to that blind spot. And if you do, I hope your senses are wide open and alert then. And that I am accessible.
No touch that feels uncomfortable is right, Kuki. No matter who touches.
Never let anyone trespass you as long as you can.
Love
R
No comments:
Post a Comment