Enas—Spoken Word
Djamila
in the 1960s, Algerian revolutionary, Djamila Boupacha was captured by French soldiers and raped with a broken beer bottle
and the one question she asked herself,
was
“Do you think any man would want me
after I’ve been ruined by that bottle?”
sito says, don’t ever let a man touch you down there
lazm t7fzy 3la nefsk
sharafk ahem she2 3ndk
amity says, a girl’s virginity is like a match
it’s only lit once
she who gives herself deserves what she gets
the Quran says,
حورية
virgins promised to men in paradise
reclining in brocade and silk
إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
scholars say,
do not confuse culture for religion
point fingers at governments, blame corruption
look the other way while women are raped
and then promote open discussion
in one breath tell us we are equal, the next immoral and sinful
we muslimas have the word honor carved into our tongues by the age of nine
so when we first bleed we can’t call ourselves a woman without swallowing those desires
are taught to covet our purity see our virginity as holy
submit quietly when they cut us before we hit puberty
Allah, I looked for you in Tahrir
could not find you
mastered all 99 names of you
chanted them as if I can make freedom out of you
but I find no freedom in having a body that is chained
in burning to fuel a revolution so that men can chant for change
Allah, I will not pray to you
do not ask me to bend to a god who wrote no book for me
whose poetry erased women from my history
who created man and watched as he used bottles to mutilate our bodies
Allah, I do not fear the shaytan
I fear I’ll have daughters and they’ll live in a world where you’re still god
Allah, I learned to love you before I knew I had to love myself
was taught to find peace in your words and seek you when I needed help
Allah, my sisters are dying
and you’re still the last word they say before they close their eyes
Allah,
I will pray to you when you send down your 100th name
when the prophetess you choose carves it into Djamila’s grave
Allah,
The Feminist
Enas is a Muslim Arab-American who graduated university in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in international human rights. As a poet, her passion is threading the arts into the dialogue of human rights as she believes they can be a profound catalyst for change.
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