Apologies for being born a woman

I’d like to apologise

For a crime so great

That it demands punishment severe

I am sorry

For being born

With the wrong chromosomes

In my defence, I wasn’t asked to choose

‘Would you like an XY or XX?’

‘My personal recommendation is XY,

It’s hot in the streets, I hear!’

I apologise that my chest isn’t flat

And that my hips form curves

I do understand that my body

Invites attention,

In fact, demands it!

So sorry if I didn’t take your crude passes

With a demure smile

But I know better now.

I apologise for my presence

In the public space

It must take a lot

Not to pounce on me.

So sorry that I provoke

The caveman in you

Every time I step outside.

I apologise for demanding

That my sister gets rights

‘cause, in the end she asked for it.

After all, it was her fault

***(I have been following the Delhi rape case closely. This is a poem I wrote after reading a woman’s comment that Nirbhaya (not the real name of the victim) shouldn’t have resisted the rapists and should’ve just given in to their attacks. I was appalled that a woman could say such a thing. The writer is a final-year student of Media and Communication studies.

Her email: nazreenfazal92@gmail.com)