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It will be…
On the night you were born
We did not give sweets to the neighbors
We cried out, ‘another girl’!
Never mind
You are here now
To belong to us you need to…
Work hard in class so I can be proud
If you are too smart
There will be no match for you
It will be your scandal
Ignore the boys playing football
If you kick the ball that lands at your feet
It will be told you played with boys
It will be your embarrassment
Learn to cook succulent chicken biryani and lamb samosas
If your husband loses weight or eats elsewhere
It will be your guilt
Cover yourself up from head to toe
If men whistle at you
And you blush and stumble
It will be your disgrace
Feel love, only for your family
If you wake your feelings and fall for a non-believer
Your heart will become broken and we will disown you
It will be your grief
Sew clothes using a pattern or crochet tablecloths
If you make a rare brave thing
Your soul will become wild and daring
It will be your agony
Think only pure thoughts
If you have independent beliefs and ideas
Your mind will become confused and over stimulated
It will be your madness
Fold your arms and keep your legs crossed
If a man pushes you up against a wall
And forces his tongue into your mouth
It will be your shame
Keep you eyes on the ground
‘What if I fall father’?
‘I wont be able to see where I’m going’.
Then you will be a fallen woman
The best you can hope for is a dutiful death
A heart attack, whilst washing your husbands feet
On a Friday, with sweat on your forehead
Then you will be spared the trial of the grave
Sadia Iqbal
Sadia Iqbal lives in London and is a Social Work Manager. Her parents moved to England from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir in the 1960s and she was born in Buckinghamshire, UK.