Facing Only Closed Doors…

By Wadia Samadi

They made peace with our enemies
In the name of ending the “war on terrorism”.
It was the men who decided our fate;
Our own men, our “allies,” and soon-to-be our occupiers.
We protested.
We warned the world.
But we were already sold behind closed doors.

Today once again, every door is closed at us.
We are slowly being erased
From public life, from society, from political engagement.
Our clothes and body are why we are excluded.
We are confined to the walls of our house,
Told to bury our dreams behind our closed doors.

But we have done it before and will do it again.
Break all doors.
Move mountains.
Raise mightier daughters.
Keep our dreams alive.
Find the light in the dark.

We will break the barriers to education.
Turn our tears into their fears.
Our voice is our weapon.
Our wounds are our strength.
Resilience is our second name.
Remember we are the divine
we have been from the start.