Author: Adelia Khalid
If I ever have a daughter,
I will teach her to be brave.
I will tell her to be wise.
I will teach her modesty but I will also teach her pride,
I will tell her that her worth is not defined by,
The size of her lips or her hips or her eyes,
But of the honesty of her heart and the intricacies of her mind,
I will tell her to smile,
Because the world needs more smilers,
I will tell her to work hard,
Because sometimes she will have to work twice as harder.
I will tell her that there will be people who think that she doesn't deserve the things that she's achieved,
I will tell her that there will be people who will never believe what she has to say,
Never listen to her just because of who she is,
I will teach her that she is not just a supporting role in someone else's story.
I will tell her that she is more than just her body,
That she was not put on this earth with the sole purpose of satisfying someone else,
That she is not an accessory to a crime she didn't commit,
I will teach her to have empathy.
I will teach her that her existence is a resistance to those who disagree.
My daughter,
I will teach you to be kind,
But if someone touches you,
In a way you know they shouldn't,
I promise you,
I don't think they will make it home.
If I ever have a son,
I will teach him to be strong,
I will teach him to be gentle,
I will tell him that it is not a crime to feel,
That crying to human beings is just as important as watering is to a tree,
I will tell him that his worth is not defined by.
Muscles and emotions you think you have to hide,
And there is nothing wrong with liking the colour pink,
And that you are not excused from kitchen duties and dirty dishes in the sink,
I will tell him that people will expect too much of him,
And if it gets too much,
I will be there for him and tell him that he is more than enough for me.
There will be people who will tell you that you are inherently vicious,
When you and I know otherwise,
I will teach him that violence is never the answer,
I will remind him to protect his sister when
I won't be able to.
I will tell him that it is more than okay to say "I'm not okay" "I love you,"
I will teach you to be brave,
To stand in the eyes of hate,
Shout to the ears of wrong-doers,
Listen and let their victims tell their story,
I will teach him that his existence is a resistance to those who disagree.
I will teach you to be kind,
I will try to be kind,
But if you come home having touched someone's daughter,
In a way you know you shouldn't have,
Not even thinking if the same happened to me or your sister,
Even when I've taught you to,
I assure you,
You will no longer have a home to come back to.
If I ever have children,
I will teach them to love,
Until the world starts to do the same,
In the meantime, my child,
I will promise you,
I will love as furiously as I hope you do too,
So that when you get here,
You won't have to.
A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation. Our Youth Ambassadors created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for Poetry Month and the the Global Action Week for Education.
Adelia Khalid, 21, is the #1 MPH [the Malaysian bookseller] bestselling author of All Minds Are Broken. Growing up in Malaysia, she would be seen with a book wherever she went. Her love for books and reading moved her to start writing her own stories. Eventually, she wrote her debut novel at 17. She is currently pursuing her Degree in English Literature at Universiti Malaya. She writes songs and poetry in her spare time.