The girl child

Iam a girl child No woman no cry I shall be a woman.

I am the seed today but a flower tomorrow

I am the backbone of the nation.

Everyone born by a woman should respect the girl child.

Are the laws protective enough of the girl child?

Is society doing enough to cherish and protect the girl child?

Is the girl child quite aware of her rights?

At most, the girl child is a victim of abuse — physical, verbal and sexual.

At home, the girl child fetches water and firewood.

Most domestic chores are relegated to the girl child

Most of the field work is assigned to the girl child.

Is it a crime to be a girl child?

Gender discrimination against girls in most institutions is rampant

I am a delicate creation to be well taken care of.

Society is so patriarchal

In some cultures, the girl child is not even allowed to be an heiress to the throne should the traditional leader pass on.

I am a girl child, sensitive and human as well like all other mortals

I demand action against gender-based violence

I demand policy makers to: -act more than talk, walk the talk,

Be empathetic, mean what they say, avoid bias,

Be inclusive in policy making decisions

I am the girl child!

Leoper Nyatando is a Form Three student at Munashe High Private School

An angel no man in his right mind would ever pass

An Aphrodite every jealous woman would surely harass

She picked the life of prayer, fasting and mass

The holy life of a Catholic sister. Like a puppet on a string

She chose to follow in the footsteps of the Heavenly King

And all that it would bring Even though it meant no ring for her, Or a single casual fling

Her great soul took wing Soaring higher above like a stone from a sling.

Then came the day she was bitten by the bug,

And something worldly stirred and beckoned

Her spirit darkened and blackened The comforting scriptures left her disheartened and disillusioned

Monastery life became unlike anything she had ever bargained, She felt dampened and burdened Though christened, disciplined and cautioned

She neither brightened nor chickened

She longed to be awakened and broadened

Her bags packed and mouth buttoned