Amaqhawekazi (for Womens Day)

By Luzuko Magengelele (Grade 10)

Sizalwa ngamakhosikazi athwala iqhiya zothando

Amaqhawekazi abhing’ amalaphu oxolo esinqeni

See, our mothers’ hearts have been bruised,

battered and butchered

by the height of injustices, slavery and oppression.

Yet miraculously these remarkable creatures still manage

to carry hearts that never hate and smiles that never fade.

Our mothers know what it means and how it feels

to be frequented by pain and suffering,

Constantly being discriminated against because

of dark skin and thick lips and round hips;

Constantly being physically, emotionally and sexually victimised;

Constantly being made to feel inferior even by our own fathers

Being denied the freedom to voice out their opinions

because apparently a woman’s place is in the kitchen

where the pots and pans are and not in the making

of decisions

Forgetting that the world actually needs our voice

because a woman’s voice is a voice of love;

In a world starving for attention

We just not given the same amount of respect we deserve.

But see, women are the divas of hope

We fearlessly walk through the rain in hopes that

after the rain the rainbow will follow

And it is this that allows us to not sit and sulk;

drowning in oceans of self-pity, counting our sorrows and misfortunes

 Instead we pray and by the grace of God

We are able to conquer the most turbulent storms

and still manage to stare back at our reflection

With triumphant eyes and victorious smiles

we are truly amaqhawekazi