FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
I HOPE
I hope I’m not a disappointment for not being born a boy
I only want to bring my parents happiness and joy
As a girl I will strive to do things to perfection
I don’t deserve to be treated without love and affection
I hope I’m not sold as a child sex slave
As this will surely take me to an early grave
I want to play with friends and have some fun
To run free on the beach and dance in the sun.
I hope I don’t get forced to marry a stranger
I want to fall in love and feel free from danger
I don’t want to live so far far away
I have family and friends with whom I want to stay.
I hope I don’t have to walk miles to fetch water that’s unclean
But to have water near home that is clear and clean
I want to be healthy and free from risk
It would be a wonderful feeling not to feel sick
I hope tonight my husband doesn’t beat me
Just because I haven’t made his dinner or tea
I want to be an equal in our relationship
To be treated with respect, love and friendship
I hope I can be educated and each day go to school
That would be fantastic for me I’d follow every rule
I could make a difference for my family and community
I might even change the world and bring equal opportunity
I hope you are all now seeing
That what I am is a human being
I have no choice in deciding my sex
As it’s you father who determines my XX