Hijab Row Poem by Chandra Shekhar Dubey

Hijab row

Let girls breathe in the open air
they are born free like their male counterparts but enslaved in the
name of religion, customs since centuries.
Indoctrination is the poison that cripple
their freedom like hoods of hydra headed snake spitting venom in claustrophobic veils like curses inflicted on Sisyphus.
Hijab is not something they are born with
but a painful reminder of imposed sanction
by tradition against the human freedom.
Time has come to liberate them from
the caged customs in the name of religion.
Who are they?
Who read from scriptures, quote verses
as if devil citing scripture to reign free spirit.
Did not those sweet petals break,
groaned under the burden of ages?
Can't we empathise with their secret desire
to come out of their cells?
Unveil the veil that veils their dignity
of self, flair for freedom.
Let them live and breathe in the fresh air.
Let us give them a feel that they are equal.
Neither bars nor barriers can stop them
for they are born free to break the chains.
Chandra Shekhar Dubey