Poetry is a beautiful form of writing that helps one express what one struggles to express or cannot express, through speech. Since ancient times, people used poetry as their voice to express their feelings towards a certain issue or to express their ideas regarding different aspects of life.
Gender based violence and injustice is something that women in almost every country are not strangers to. An increasing number of women speak up regarding the gender-based violence that they fall victim to.
Women’s voices for equality are enabled when women voicing their opinions and standing up for their rights with the progression of the global society.
However, in the past, women did not have the ability to openly speak about their opposition or general feelings towards the oppression and injustice that they faced in society. Many of these oppressed and silenced women resorted to communicating these ideas and repressed feelings through poetry and other forms of writing.
Women’s issues
As 2021 International Women’s Day is just around the corner, the theme that this day will be celebrated under, “Choose to challenge” must be highlighted and brought to attention of the public. This theme prompts the society to challenge and voice their opinions regarding the issues women face around the world. Challenging and voicing one’s opinions does not necessarily have to be done through speech. Many women poets have proved that poetry is a strong tool to express oneself and one’s personal views, or struggles.
Much like the moving and influential work by Sri Lankan women poets, such as Vivimarie VanderPoorten and Yasmine Gooneratne,the Indian poet, Kamala Das who wrote under the pen name, Madhavikutty is an example of the way in which women poets used poetry to express the burdens they face and their inner anguish regarding the ways in which women are and have beenvictimised in society.
Through her poem, “An Introduction”, Das describes her mental and emotional state as she aged and pushed back against patriarchal society. Within this poem, she highlights the issues associated with the culture and unjust societal norms of conservative countries, such as India. Writing about unfair social pressures that burden young girls, such as child marriage and the way in which they are forced to grow up and take on adult roles while not being able to enjoy their young lives, she incorporates her experiences of her childhood and innocence being robbed from her due to the detrimental societal norms as seen through the lines,
“I was child, and later they
Told me I grew, for I became tall,
my limbs
Swelled and one or two places
sprouted hair.
WhenI asked for love,
not knowing what else to ask
For, he drew a youth of sixteen into the
Bedroom and closed the door,
He did not beat me
But my sad woman-body felt so beaten.
The weight of my breasts and womb crushed me.
I shrank Pitifully.”
Not only does Das bring out the issues she and many other girls face through her poem, but also highlights the effects thatgender-based violence has on girls and women.
“Then … I wore a shirt and my
Brother’s trousers,
cut my hair short and ignored
My womanliness.
Dress in sarees, be girl
Be wife, they said.
Be embroiderer, be cook,
Be a quarreller with servants.
Fit in. Oh,
Belong, cried the categorizers.
Don’t sit
On walls or peep in through our
lace-draped windows.”
She explains through these linesthat the fate that was forced upon her caused her to feel shame regarding her gender and feel uncomfortable being herself, encouraging the harmful thought of wanting to be a different person. These lines are an expressionof the way in which social stigma of certain societies force girls and women to conform to a pre-conceived idea of what a woman should be and how she should act. These issues girls and women face due to conservative and regressive views and actions of societies are challenged by Kamala Das through her work of poetry, as we walk through her mind and understand her opinions based on her experiences.
Voice against injustice
Poetry being the perfect tool to challenge and speak up against injustice and address and shine the light on unfair social stigma and social standards, is also proved by the young, modern poet Rupi Kaur. The Indian-born Canadian poet rose to fame by posting her poems regarding current issues faced by different people and communities, on social media platforms.
Many of her works of poetry focus on the issues faced by women. Kaur uses her poems as a form of challenging the objectification of women and the sexual injustice and violence that women undergo. This challenging and voicing of the stigma that oppresses women through her poetry is evident through Kaur’s short poem on society’s view on a woman’s body, in which the following lines are mentioned,
“it is okay to sell what’s
between a woman’s legs
more than it is okay
to mention its inner workings
the recreational use of
this body is seen as
beautiful while
its nature is
seen as ugly”
Here, the poet mentions the unfair way in which women are objectified and are expected to accept these views and the abuse that comes along withit. This short poem is one of the many poems by the poet that coveys the power of poetry. Kaur is an ideal role model for the youth and the rest of society, as she sets the example that the words one writes and the thoughts and feelings that one puts on paper can make a difference and inspire others.
The topic of inspiring women poets who changed the world cannot be discussed or written about without mentioning thetimeless poetic genius of Maya Angelou. She was an American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist. Her poems regarding feminism and the issues faced by women are largely, poetic works of empowerment. Women empowerment is an important aspect of feminism that should be encouraged and developed in society to establish equality and justice for women.
Exemplary Poet
Maya Angelou was an exemplary poet who carried society forward through her progressive poetry that empowered women to embrace their womanhood and the greatness that comes along with being a woman. Through her poetry, Angelou chose to challenge the discouraging shame and insulting views society held regarding women’s bodies and personalities that cause them to feel self-conscious, unworthy or undeserving of self-love and self-confidence.
Through her poetry, she taught women how they should respect themselves and embrace everything they are born with, be it physical or personality wise, despite anything society hurls at them to make them feel less than or inferior.
Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise” is an example of the way in which she used poetry as a tool to empower women by teaching them to embrace themselves and their gender and to stand up for what they believe and deserve.
“Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down
like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.”
These lines express the attitude of not letting judgement about one’s personality that one may face from society, affect oneself. Angelou attempts to inculcate the confidence within women that as a woman, one should never bow down to what society dictates one is worthy of.
These ideas and views that Angelou attempts to establish within the society through her poetry are also brought out through her poem, “Phenomenal Woman”, which expresses the way in which, self-confidence and self-respect are two essential qualities for women to possess to know what they are worth insociety and to stand up against oppression. This is evident through verses from this poem such as,
“Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”
These inspiring lines express the message that Angelou attempts to convey to women that, women are an essential part of society and they hold the society in the palms of their hands. Although the rest of society underestimates women, women should learn to know their worth and realise their ability to transform and uplift society.
Women poets have proven to the world that women are of utmost importance to society and that speaking up against gender-based violence and the unfair treatment and judgement of women all over the world can be achieved not only through speech but also through writing and creation of empowering literary work, such as the poems.
This year, while we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, we must all consider the fact that putting our pens to paper and expressing our feelings, views and ideas could inspire women all over the world. We can all do our part in reducing oppression and injustice against women globally by choosing to challenge through writing.