If I Ever Have Children

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.

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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.

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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.

مادرَ الفاظ / Mother's of Words

Author: Yalda Aminy

منو تو نسلی از اندوه ممتد
شکار پنجه ی خفاش بودیم
نگاه ام آسمانی بود و اما
منو تو همقطار باز بودیم
ببستن سنگر تعلیم ما را
منو تو مطلوب الماس بودیم
شکستن رنگ های نوجوانی
منو تو هردو یک آواز بودیم
برای نسل یک ملت چه گویم
منو تو زن شده غمساز بودیم
گهی ظلم و شکنجه گهَ خشونت
منوتو مادر قفقاز بودیم
شب تاریک ز زلف ما سحر شد
منو تو بند یک الفاظ بودیم
خشونت نام دوم جهان هست
منوتو مظلوم این ساز بودیم
کتابم را گرفتند و ندانند
منوتو مادر الفاظ بودیم
به رقص و پایکوبی در دل جهل
منو تو زاده ، آزاد بودیم
به آواز خوانی آسمان درسم
منو تو معلم هر ساز بودیم

#یلداهُژیرامینی‌ع ♥️🥀

You and I are a generation of continuous sadness
We were the prey of bat claws
My gaze was heavenly and but
You and I were on the same train with Baz
Closing the bastion of our education
You and I were the desired diamonds
Breaking the colors of adolescence
You and I were the same song
What can I say for the generation of a nation?
You and I became a woman, we were sad
Sometimes cruelty and torture, sometimes violence
You and I were Caucasian mothers
The dark night became dawn from our zalf
You and I were bound by the same words
Violence is the second name of the world
You and I were victims of this instrument
They took my book but they don't know
You and I were the mother of words
At the time of dancing and stomping in the heart of ignorance
You and I were born free
I am learning to sing the sky
You and I, the teacher, were each instrument

“They took my book but they don’t know,
You and I were the mother of words”

— Yalda Aminy

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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.

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Yalda Hozhair Aminy, 22, is an social activist and a member of the Afghan Girls Robotic Team. She works with several international organizations, including Afghan Youths Network and the Golden Needle Association. She is an Ambassador of Allies to Refugees in Afghanistan and helped them to open their first center in Afghanistan.

Education is a must

Author: Etishri Chaturvedi, She’s the First Girls Advisory Council Member

Education is a must,
None should protest.
The most powerful weapon is Education,
And without it you can't do anything in this nation.
Education is the best,
And While you Education you can't rest.
Education is our right,
And so it teaches not to fight.

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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 Global Action Week for Education.

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Etishri Chaturvedi, 17, is a student from India and a member of She’s the First’s Girls Advisory Council. She believes that when women and girls support each other, incredible things happen.

Cultural Heritage

Author: Punya

The roots of Hinduism run deep 
 and strong, 
A heritage of centuries, 
         a tale so long. 
       From the banks of the Ganges to the southern seas, 
    The essence of Hinduism shines with a brilliant gleam.
       In the halls of temples and the offerings made,
   In the chant of the mantras and the puja parade, 
   In the colorful festivals and the sacred dances, 
   Lies the heart of Hinduism, its cultural prances.
The myths and legends, the stories so grand, 
   Of gods and goddesses, holy and bland.     

     From the mighty Vishnu to the fierce Kali,                   
    The stories of Hinduism are woven so lively.
The moral teachings, 
   the philosophy divine, In the scriptures of Hinduism, so sublime. 
     From the Vedas to the Bhagavad Gita,   The wisdom of Hinduism shines so brighter.
        The art and architecture, the music and song, 
     The rich cultural heritage of Hinduism belongs. 
    From the Ajanta caves to the sculptures of Khajuraho, 
   The beauty of Hinduism is on full display, don't you know?
    So let us cherish and preserve this rich tale, Of Hinduism's heritage, 
    beyond time and scale. 
  For it is a part of our identity and pride, 
    A cultural heritage that we should keep by our side.

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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 Global Action Week for Education.

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Punya is a 17-year-old teen from India who is keen and passionate about public speaking, writing and reading. She is a self-proclaimed "eco-freak" as well.

The Ultimate She’s the First Poem

Deepa is an student attending Kopila Valley in Surkhet, Nepal. She was diagnosed with Lupus, a kidney disease, and so she hopes to one day become a nephrologist in order to help others with the same health issues.

In the meantime, Deepa loves to cook and to write poetry — and when the She’s the First team visited her in Nepal, she performed this beautiful poem.

“I wrote this poem because I wanted to tell the story about girls in Nepal and how they grow up here,” says Deepa. “It is about how they suppress their feelings. I wrote this because it relates to kids at Kopila [STF’s partner school in Nepal]. I wrote this about all girls in Nepal, because I have seen these bad things happen to them. People think girls are not strong, they can’t do anything in their life, they should just cut grass. They think it is a waste of money to spend on [girls’] education. It is important; girls need to be educated. If girls go to school, then the whole country will be educated and Nepal’s development will change. Girls are strong enough to handle their lives and make their own decisions.”

Follow the text of Deepa’s poem below— and share!

She’s the First
By Deepa N.

I am a girl.
A girl in Nepal, in the beautiful mountains.
The sun is on the horizon.
I’m getting older and with the passing of time I start to feel like the world is set against me. I am a girl on the side of a river bed breaking stones
Morning to dusk washing dishes and clothes
Working, earning, in someone else’s home, in the fields, in a city hotel
Sleeping gin the alley between the big buildings, under a piece of plastic,
or in a mud house.
Somehow I feel like I’m falling.

I am a girl.
I begin to dream.
I want to be a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, a teacher
I am told that I’m a girl who can’t get an education, knowledge, and opportunities.
I’ll have to get married and go to my husband’s house.
Spending on my education would be a waste of money.
So I work, in the kitchen,
in the fields like all the women who came before me. I am a girl.
I sleep in the cow shed, outside on the floor, in the cold, on a pile of hay
With the animals.
I can’t touch anything or do certain things for 5 days of the month,
because I’m suffering from something that I can’t control
When I have my period.

I am a girl, turning into a young woman.
I have feelings that I never had before.
Everyone says it’s time for me to get married.
There are rules according to my caste,
my age, my family, my wealth. But what about me? Why didn’t anybody ask me if I
was ready? I feel too young. I don’t feel mature. Is this for society to decide?But what about when society took innocent and illiterate girls to be trafficked, sold and forced to become a prostitute in a brothel?
But what about that sati pratha when society forced women to jump in the fire where their dead husband burned?
Who decided it was okay for so many women to live in fear in their own homes of fathers, brothers and husbands?*

I dig my feelings deep into the depths of my heart.
Dear mother I cannot breathe, in this tradition somewhere in between rich and poor, somewhere in between higher and lower castes,
somewhere between discrimination,
is me.
A girl.
Let this all pass.
Let’s bring a change and make this a new Nepal, a new world.
Let’s make our failures the beginnings for the path to success.

I am a girl and I cannot suppress my feelings. I will not spoil my life. I will not
ignore my opportunities waiting in front of me like a new day.
I am going to defeat this.

The sun is on the horizon and I’m dreaming but I’m awake.
I am a girl but not a failure. Not anymore.
I am a girl and I am better than you think,
sturdier than I look, smarter than you know, braver than I show and stronger than you believe.

I am a girl.
I will be the first.
To go to school. To get an education. To have chances.
To love and express my love.
The earth will not be destroyed by me making my own decisions.
I can be like Miss Maggie Doyne or Florence Nightingale or Mother Theresa
or Ghandi or whatever I want. I will not stumble.
I’m going to shake up the world from the corners,
and light up the sky with my laugh.
And instead of breaking rocks I am going to rock the world.
I’ll wash away old traditions while I wash dishes and clothes,
and when I plant in the fields, I’ll plant a new future, a new path. One of equality.
I will be the first.

The sun is on the horizon and the day has come.
I woke up and realized the world was behind me. Fighting for me. Cheering for me. Set up for me to thrive and succeed.
This is a place where I will leave my mark.
And when I’ve done everything I needed to do, they will say,
She was the first.

*a stanza that Deepa added to the poem in April 2016

(photo by Kate Lord)

If you would like to support the mentorship and education of girls like Deepa, please visit shesthefirst.org/donate.