To The Women Being Controlled By The Men In Their Lives
To the women who are being controlled by the men in their lives.
Fathers, brothers, partners. Relatives that are not even related. And an old boys club masquerading as religion.
I want you to know this is not normal, and this is not okay.
You may be too young or too afraid to leave or rebel; or so used to the regime that you have begun to see it as normal, or make excuses for it.
But there is no excuse, and this is not okay.
To the women who are being told what they can and cannot wear. The women who are forced to cover their hair or their legs or their cleavage. The women who are made to feel dirty and cheap, because boys know what boys think. The women who learn to feel shame around their beautiful body, and learn that it belongs to men.
This is not okay.
To the women who are denied freedom to their own choices. The women who are told when they can date, and who they can marry, and when it’s right to have sex. The women who are denied access to birth control, and the right to have an abortion. The women who are passed from their father to their husband, like cattle. The women who are told what they can and can’t do, what career they should have, and what they can and cannot say. The women who are not allowed to drive, because they are women. The women who are not allowed to walk outside alone. The women who are told to stay home when they’re bleeding. And the women who are denied their basic human right to an education.
This is not okay.
To the women who are taught that women are inferior to men. Because men are bigger, physically stronger, with a louder voice. Because men created these patriarchal religions, which teach us we come second. And because men continue to create rules and systems where women are oppressed on a daily basis; knowingly or not.
This is not okay.
The women who grew up hearing things like, women have too many rights, women are getting out of control, if you wear that then you’re asking to be raped. The women who grew up immersed in a household that perpetuated rape culture, without even realising it.
This is not okay.
To the women who are being controlled. The women being told who they can talk to and who they can see. What they should look like and how much they can eat. How many times a day they need to lay down and open their legs. The women who are being taught their needs don’t matter as long as his are met. The women who are kicked and punched until their self-worth crumbles, and they no longer recognise they deserve worlds better.
This is not okay.
To the women who don’t know any better. Because this is the way it has always been; this is all they have ever known. The women who refuse to accept they are living an oppressed life, because it’s disguised within the word religion. The women who watched their mothers and sisters be controlled, and accept the same fate. The women believe this control is what’s best for them, and the women around them; because this control means security, safety, and acceptance.
None of this is okay.
To the women being controlled by the men in their lives: it is not okay, and it is not your fault.
You are not wrong to want to make your own choices, and have different beliefs, and feel liberated and free as you walk this earth. It is not unreasonable that you demand equality, and respect as a woman. And it is not right that anyone believes they have the right to control you.
You are your own woman. Control does not belong here. And nobody owns you. Nobody has the right to tell you what to do or how to dress or the way you should live your life.
This is your life. Take back control of it today.