NaziaWhat a careless driver, must be a woman
I hear many men say.
They drive so slow and
jam the entire traffic, stopping randomly in the middle of the road.
They can’t drive properly at night
and make journeys even longer
when on a country wide drive.
That’s why women shouldn’t drive.
How true
I say.
Women forego their careers to look after the child.
They cook, clean and nurse the sick at night.
They toil like machines
Working all hours of the day.
They are the ones responsible for holding all the relationships together
‘home makers’ they are called.
And yet
It is the man’s name that the children bear.
He being in charge of every decision the house makes.
This place is safe
That is not
You can visit here
But not there
Every destination is already defined.
It has been so long that women held the steering wheel of their lives
No wonder they can’t drive.
II
Girls can’t do maths
The subject is complex.
Demanding logic and reason
it’s full of confusion.
Integration, differentiation and substitution
every topic requires perfection.
There is a need for precision
basic skills that girls lack.
How I hated those words as a child
but growing up,
‘It’s all true.’ I realised.
Girls don’t know how to add and subtract
that’s why men keep money matters to themselves.
Had they known percentages
their share in life would have been more too.
But devoid of any knowledge of proportions
they accept a tenth of what men get.
How can girls understand vectors when all their lives they follow?
They are bad with directions and dimensions.
They never claim profit
for the love so selflessly bestowed.
Slogging on without appreciation
they nurture without calculation.
No wonder girls can’t do maths.
