When I was a girl

When I was a girl,

and I talked about

what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I would state that I wanted to be a mechanic

like my uncle

I don’t know why I went off the idea

but I didn’t pursue it

at that time

Girls didn’t become mechanics

In my freetime

and at breaktimes

I’d play football with the boys

I loved playing football

but there was no team for me

because in those days

Girls weren’t supposed to play football

Nowadays, our outlook has changed

There is a world full of opportunities

open to all

regardless of gender

but we cannot

for one second

be complacent

or stop pushing our agenda.

Until the 15% pay gap

no longer exists

Until women in the media

no longer have a shelf life

Until they stop forcing my teenage sisters into marrying old men and

women in ‘civilised’ nations are no longer

denied the autonomy of their own bodies

in a distorted application of the laws of religion

Until every INCEL reconsiders his views

and teen boys stop exalting mysogynists

with scary ideas and flash cars