The Female Poem by Taslima Nasrin

BIRTH

In the instinct of no-creature-of-Nature
the birth of a female is considered undesirable.
Only humans consider it strange.

CHILDHOOD

Since she has been born,
let her stay in an obscure corner of her home
and learn to survive.

ADOLESCENCE

Keep your hair in a tight knot.
Don't let your eyes wander here and there.
Hide carefully your swelling breasts.
Women, we know, need to be kept in chains.
At best they can be allowed
to move about in the precincts of the home, that's all.

YOUTH

Men look for fresh virgins
so they can maul and tear them,
some on the plea of love,
some of marriage.

OLD AGE

The tight smooth skin is full of wrinkles.
The menstruation pain is gone forever.
The thread of the tale told again has snapped.

DEATH

We are well rid of nuisance.
In the instinct of no-creature-of-Nature
is the death of a female so desirable.