I hear her cry at night because she has been hurt.

I hear him scream at her and accuse her for being a bad wife.

I hear him talk to other women in front of her.

 

I ask her, "Why don't you just leave him?"

She replies, "Because I'll be looked down upon."

She puts on a mask and continues to endure the pain.

 

The patriarch values my father had set in my brain

constructed me to despise her for staying.

I thought she was stupid, weak, and an instigator.

 

Only growing up and learning about women's history

did I break free from the patriarchy values.

My mother is the strongest woman I know.

She deals with abuse from my father while taking care of ten children.

She doesn't give others in my culture the satisfaction of looking at her the way I had looked at her.

 

My former ignorance had cause me to look down upon my mother.

Many people in my culture are blinded by partiarchy and power.

We don't appreciate the people who suffer through 9 months to give us life.

We don't value the love they have for us.

We were constructed to bow down to the men.

I have now raised my head and refuse to bow down any longer.

 

Patriarchy still exists in society.

We need break down the notion that

women are inferior to men, and embrace equality.