You

Are the worst enemy I
will ever face. You
are that man of different
creed or race. You

Am I that different?
Do my eyes disconcert

You? Why you?
You killed her! It was

YOU! Get back here and pay for your sins!
We may lose the battle but you will never win!

You killed her!
You raped me!
You stole my life!
You broke my things!

We will fight, and fight, and fight once more, without any knowledge of what tomorrow brings.
Peace
Is now the caged canary that sings
Set down your guns, open the cage
Watch the bird wash away the rage.

By
Zara Williams-Nicholas

Peacock

Have you ever thought to yourself having only one leg but also being happy and dancing like a peacock is possible? You may call me insane but it's not a foolish question that I am asking as I have seen someone really doing it here in Nepal. Neelam Dhungana, 21, an amputee, who lost her one leg in a tragic bus accident while she was only 15, has the power to dazzle you with her mesmerizing dance performance. I bet, you will start imagining yourself in her shoes and feel miserable for having both legs and still not being able to have those flawless steps like her. Neelam is an exemplar in this mentally handicapped society where, physical disability is associated with failure, with dependency and with not being able to do things (even the regular chores of life).

Neelam as her name suggests, is really like a gem stone (The Blue Sapphire), with a captivating beauty and never ending smile. Her school mates always had a dream of dancing like her as every one used to appreciate her dance moves. Any cultural program at school and Neelam wasn't there; the program wouldn't be interesting, and theywould opine. She was synonymous to a peacock.

Our life is like a Pandora's Box. We never know what tragic surprises it has for us when we open it. The same happened with Neelam when she was just on the edge of her youth. An ambitious dream of being a famous actor, a blissful teenager, thousand youthful aspirations and most of all the best diversion of her life; dancing were all shattered in a road mishap made by a careful driver when she was rightfully walking on her own lane holding the hands of her best buddy. In the tragedy she not only had to lose her friend forever but she even had to mislay all her dreams and lead her remaining life as an amputee with only one leg. When she remembers the very day she says, "I learnt that my leg was amputated only a day after. Though my family members were around me giving me hope, but in private I used to admit the misery and shed tears for the misfortune of not being able to dance any more.
Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. For her, disability was typical trajectory. After a period of time, she started to adapt to her new situation, and started making much of it. She started dancing even with her one leg without giving notice to others for her happiness as dancing was the ultimate ecstasy of her life. After five years of practice (which wasn't easy), her talent got the limelight on a local stage on the occasion of 'International Day of Persons with Disabilities' a year back with the support of Bhima Khatiwada and Mina Acharya, who too are physically disable; whom Neelam likes to credit. Since then, she has never stepped back from her aspiration of being an actor. "Even if life is sometimes hard, my spouse, parents and mentors have always supported me and helped me become the one-leg dancer of Nepal.", Neelam shares.

We often assume that people with disabilities are unhappy. But in fact we're wrong. Surveys reveal people with disabilities consistently report a quality life as good as, or sometimes even better than that of non-disabled people. Human flourishing is possible even if you lack a major sense like sight, ability to walk, or beingphysically dependent on others. Sometimes, disabled are driven to greater achievements than before. That's why if we presuppose that physical difficulties for people result in misery for them, then we are wrong.

What is more important here is the social blockade rather than the physical impairment itself. It's true that in general, disabled people usually have fewer choices than non-disabled people. Most societies still have limited accessibility for them, which have certainly created some problem for them. Otherwise, special people like Neelam are much better than mentally jammed people of our society.




Yes, it's also true that physical impairment undoubtedly involves greater degrees of misery than average human should endure. Apart from that, there are some examples like Neelam whose transformative life stories teach us an important lesson that human beings are capable of adapting to almost any situation and can march on to triumph, overcoming all the misfortunes. Neelam, even after such misfortune still dances like a peacock.

Written by: Bhawana Shrestha
Country: Nepal

Write 4 Girls

The door slammed. It was a sign for young Diwa to start trembling and shaking. At that point, she was stuck in a dead - end street, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a husky, dark - haired fellow cast a shadow on the wall; while entering the room. Diwa, now petrified, started praying. From that moment on, everything for her was a blur...except for the bruises on her entire body.

Do you happen to feel the chill running down your spine while reading this? You should, because it is alarming and to be quite upfront, not so frequent. You may not pay much attention, but many other girls in our surroundings crave to be salvaged from the claws of people who own them. Unfortunately, even though we live in the 21st century, that phenomenon is still among us. Those girls are thrown away on the street, made robots for distributing money at an early age. It does not seem or feel right. But the question remains - What should be done?

Girls are often considered as a weaker gender, being put in inferior position. But shouldn't they be treated with care and protected? I bet you can see the irony in that. Imagine your sister, cousin being abused and maltreated by a bully or, if we stretch to extremes, a pimp. You would do anything to change the situation, regardless of the law and regulations. That is how we need to start feeling for all the girls, not just the significant ones. In this theoretically free world, people are open - minded and ready to help by giving tribute to those who deserve. Girls are awarded Nobel Prize because they deserve it, by showing how strong and independent the weak gender can be. That is something I personally, feel proud of. Neglecting the nation she belongs, ethnicity and religion. That does not matter when we have a higher purpose, a goal to chase.

As for Diwa, we need to pray her word gets heard, that she finds her Safe Heaven, her shelter in this harsh world. Hope is something we need to embrace and to cherish, without which we cannot survive. Hope is the one thing that keeps us going. Hope for a better future, for a better life with love, equality and peace. That is what we all long for, is it not?

By

Una Ristic

Issues faced by Young Girls and Women Empowerment

Gender Inequality basically refers to unequal treatment based on sexual orientation. It emerges from differences in socially developed gender roles and additionally organically through hormonal differences. Gender frameworks are regularly hierarchical; gender twofold frameworks may reflect the disparities that show in various measurements of everyday life. Gender Inequality disparity comes from discrepancy, whether experimentally grounded or socially built.

In every aspect of society, gender inequality balance has turned into the norm. All around acknowledged standards of human rights have set the standard for correspondence between women and men. This concept reaches out to the distinguishment that young girls and women are remarkable individuals with rights and duties like those of young men and boys.

Have you ever pondered the lives of young ladies of your age in poorer nations as far and wide as possible? From numerous points of view they are the same: these young girls enjoy in family, attempt to discover time for hanging out with friends, and consider what's on the horizon. Anyway in a few ways the issues and difficulties confronting them are altogether different.

Twenty-five percent of adolescent young ladies in "developing" or low-salary nations live in extreme poverty. It implies that individuals don't have all the basic needs for survival, in the same way as food, water, lodging, home, clothing, education, and health care. 

In numerous nations, young girls are esteemed far short of young men; they don't have the opportunity to go to class, to long for a future career, or have fun time. Envision what your life would be similar to if your parents thought it didn't make sense for young ladies to go to class, get medical consideration, or even get as much foodstuff as young men.

Education: In numerous countries, when young ladies are near to their puberty, their guardians demoralize them from proceeding in school or even pressurize them to drop out, to protect their reputation and marriage prospects. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, just 17 percent of young girls are enlisted in secondary (high) school.

Training = Power: Every year of educating builds a young lady's earning power by 10 to 20 percent, while the return on their secondary education is significantly higher. Additionally, improved education for young girls is interfaced to lower HIV disease rates, lessened baby mortality, and an increment in a country's general for every capita pay.

Work Opportunities: Young women have a harder time finding work than young men and by and large are considered as just for a restricted range of "suitable" occupations like sewing, housekeeping (household), or factory work. These occupations pay less of what the young men's occupations. Young girls are frequently abused by their managers in light of the fact that they have constrained power, security, protection and rights.

Early Marriage: Young Motherhood, Unwanted Pregnancy, and Disease: One in seven young ladies in creating nations get married before age 15, and almost half are married by age 20; regularly, the young ladies are not given a decision in the matter. Married, young ladies go from fathers and siblings to their spouses. Not just do one-third of ladies in creating nations conceive an offspring before age 20, they are much more prone to pass on from pregnancy-related complications than ladies in age of 20.

Their children are likewise at higher danger of illness and death. Substantial extents of these pregnancies are unwanted, since a large portion of these young women need access to legitimate health awareness and birth control. Every year, somewhere around 2 and 4 million girls resort to risky, off and on again fatal, abortion techniques. 

Young Girls and women in late-modern social orders are depicted as those most subordinated to the consumer society. In previous socialist nations, prostitution has offered restricted to acquire the moneynecessary to take part in new consumer ways of life. All through history, young people have been examined as to their demeanour, conduct, sexuality and general behaviour. Moral Panics are frequently structured in West Society .Ex: Teenage Pregnancy and Crime rate expanded due to growing youthful mother population. In Central and South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, one in five births is to a female under age 20. The conception rates for youngsters in this age gathering are additionally high in Latin America and the Caribbean and in East Europe compared and rest of Europe as appeared.

The lifestyles and practices of young ladies and women have changed. Smoking and under-age drinking have ended up more normal and become a norm, and drug use has expanded. A British study -In 1995 demonstrated that one in five females between the ages of 14 and 25 utilized cannabis at any rate once a week, and 22 percent of the 15-to 16-year-old young ladies surveyed had attempted it;11 numerous young ladies apparently related drinking and drug use with sociability and development.

Consistently, more than 14 million young ladies wed before their eighteenth birthday. Early marriage is most common in rural and impoverished territories of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia; however the practice is in no way, shape or form restricted to these regions.

Poverty frequently triggers this practice. Families may trust that an early marriage will secure a young girl's future and honour. Again and again, however, these unions bring about disempowerment, misuse, and early pregnancy – all of which can prompt genuine wellbeing outcomes.

The information is compelling: almost 30% of young ladies matured 15–19 in a marriage or dating relationship have encountered physical and/or sexual violence on account of their intimate partners. Complications joined to pregnancy and labour is the second leading reason for death among these girls.

Early marriage damages a young lady's rights. It adequately closes her Education and her capability to win her living further down in future, helping society's economic and social advancement. It can likewise put her life in danger.


Conclusion 
Girls are needed to be encouraged and backed by other ladies. Occasions bringing ladies and girls together, workshops building self-assurance and respect toward oneself.Displaying persuasive yet aspiring good examples to young ladies who they can look toward and learn from. Raising aspirations of young people and helping them recognise their so they can accomplish positive things in life. We must guarantee equivalent access to education and livelihood opportunities for ladies and young girls. We must challenge social standards that help male power and control over ladies and young girls. We must empower adolescent young ladies with confidence, faith and awareness of various life options. We must work with juvenile young men and young ladies to create equal connections relationship in shared appreciation. We must train parents and schools to teach kids through non-violent practices.

BY
MISHAAL SHAHZAD

Write for Girls

Every young adolescent girl all over the world is being assaulted by society based on her gender, she often gets beaten, raped and in some countries even murdered. It is a huge problem that can cause young girls to feel as if they are not an important part of society and it can destroy their self esteem. I’m sure that every young girl is special in her own unique way and because of that they should be respected and allowed to be who she really is.They are often afraid to talk about that, but when the whole world is silent, even one single voice becomes powerful.
Every girl should have the dignity, respect, education and freedom she deserves. The best way to help young adolescent girls is to unleash their own potential to change the world. God bless those ambitious young adolescent girls who are willing to fight for their rights!
By
Ermina Beganovic

FORBIDDEN WISHES

Poem - Genre: Gothic Fiction

At the hillside a beauty feel so blue..
Picking rue by the light of the moon..

She was a divinity's creature but, attuned...
A dark sinister as bible construe...

Hoping mercy would show her face...
To a gothic revival in her way....

Sarah, she was a sign of pure yin...
But in a deep love with an angel of sin...

That queen of snow certainty deprived...
In a tainted perdition, and then she cried....

Abandon to love was the only settlement,
But oh God! it is an immortal sentiment...!!!

By
Sarah Bhurgari Pakistan

Women: Pride or Prejudice

Pride, the word describes the superiority, and we are habituated to put this adjective to men only. But have we thought, if this word would be addressed to women, then what turmoil might  happen? Surely, lots of male were dissatisfied and vehemently criticized the process as insane and still put the women at the bottom of the society as a prejudicial view. This politics of the word not only shows the aggressiveness towards, women but also reflect the male chauvinism.

Taking the reference from the female scholars, Simon De Bevoir, in Second Sex critically examines the contrast between men and women as:

I am sometimes vexed during abstract discussions to hear men say to me, “You think thus and such because you are a woman.” But I know that my only defense would be to respond, “I think it because it is true,” thereby eliminating my subjectivity. It would be out of the question to reply, “And you think the contrary because you are a man”; for it is understood that the fact of being a man is not a singularity. A man is in the right in being man: its woman who is in the wrong. (LDS 1:14, TM; TSS xxi)

         This opinion clarifies the gap between men and women which are right and wrong in the parameter of societal view respectively. This kind of view was germinated when the society was upbringing from it’s nascent to developed stage. But the recent trend in development by the donors through NGOs/INGOs has emerged as a panacea to uplift the status into developed form.

Taking the reference of SAARC countries, we can take glimpse of the female body the main role in government and other countries.

 Especially in Nepal, we can see the bigger picture of women in a positive way. Nepal has gone through the civil war for years and as a result from that, it has established as a republic nation and freedom of expression was a catchphrase for women. From this example, we can see that it takes time to dismantle the traditional view to come in a positive form.

As we are in the 21^st century we should take a leading role to educate the family, society and ultimately to the whole nation that we are equal human beings and there shouldn’t be any distinction between the sexes. Youth can be the catalyst to change this mentality and advocate the community by being a voluntary goodwill ambassador. Girls and boys should join the hand and lead the small project like empowering society in the issues of sex, gender and teach the positive view. Apart from the individual initiation, government should take a lead role to come up with the clear strategical view which benefits the gender concept.

If we want to really see the world as a gender balance, first and foremost we have to deconstruct the word prejudice and honor the women with the word pride. Real change comes when we join the hand and go together for the genuine cause.

By Suraj Sharma

Reference:

Beauvoir, Simon de. “The Second Sex.” Critical Theory since Plato. Ed.Hazard Adams. New York: Harcourt, 1992. 993-1000.

Child marriages

Bitter the memories are
Painful the memories felt
Even after ten years i still hear the awful yells, the images keep
flashing by...
I can still see him, pushing deep into me, smiling foolishly
It's been long but the memories still cut deep.
I was but a child then, robbed of innocence and now emptied.
Ooh the memories are still fresh!

By Portia Dery
Ghana