Her Father's World

Her world is her father's world.

Her world is her family's world.

Their culture, their beliefs, their traditions

Their fate and religion—that's her world.

Her name is Fatima, and she's a girl of 11

She already knows how her life will end.

“Be nice to him; he's our only hope,” Dada said

She looked straight into her father's eyes and nodded.

She's married at 11; that's her fate

She's to care for her family; that's her job

She's not allowed to eat until all the men are done; that's tradition.

Education and freedom are unspeakable; that's her life.

She's 12, but she's a mother to one baby and many future babies.

She's a mother, she's a cook, she's a teacher, and she's a doctor.

She's brave and scared to her bones.

She's strong and weak at the same time.

She's afraid to make mistakes like her mom.

She's scared to look around the world because

She's only a girl! And she's not supposed to drive; she's not permitted!

She's not supposed to talk back.

She can only bear children, take her husband's name, and live in silence.

She's Fatima and she's 25; to her 13-year-old daughter, she says

“Oh dear, you've got to run, find your life, andfulfill your dreams.”

For her daughter, who's about to look into the world, she is scared.

She just can't help but go on her knees.

Hello, I am Fatima's daughter. I left, and I don't regret it.

I ran into the deserts, searching for greener pastures where souls barely survive.

But I was too close to give up, and I couldn't go back to being stigmatized.

Even though it took me years to get here, even though I got raped 100

times,

It's the price I paid for being free.

Even though they call me a crazy feminist,

I will live my life.

Even though I can't look up to my dad for being disobedient,

I won't be ashamed,

I know my daughter will stand with her eyes up. Don't judge me for my gender. Look into my eyes, and you will see the world of a girl.

This poem was originally written in 2020 by Hannah Imordi for the Tutto Mundo contest, and she won the special mention award. With a few changes made, she hopes that gender equality will be the norm and that child marriage and FGM will finally be seen as barbaric traditions that should be abolished.