A Poem by Kamla Bhasin

A father asks his daughter:
Study? Why should you study?
I have sons aplenty who can study
Girl, why should you study?

The daughter tells her father:
since you ask, here¹s why I must study.
Because I am a girl, I must study.

Long denied this right, I must study
For my dreams to take flight, I must study
Knowledge brings new light, so I must study
For the battles I must fight, I must study
Because I am a girl, I must study.

To avoid destitution, I must study
To win independence, I must study
To fight frustration, I must study
To find inspiration, I must study
Because I am a girl, I must study.

To fight men¹s violence, I must study
To end my silence, I must study
To challenge patriarchy I must study
To demolish all hierarchy, I must study.
Because I am a girl, I must study.

To mould a faith I can trust, I must study
To make laws that are just, I must study
To sweep centuries of dust, I must study
To challenge what I must, I must study
Because I am a girl, I must study.

To know right from wrong, I must study.
To find a voice that is strong, I must study
To write feminist songs I must study
To make a world where girls belong, I must study.
Because I am a girl, I must study.

-- Kamla Bhasin - India

Kamla Bhasin was born in 1946 and grew up in Rajasthan, India. She received a BA at Maharani's College in Jaipur and an MA in Economics at Rajasthan University, India. 

From April 1970 to March 1971 Bhasin was a Lecturer in the Orientation Centre of the German Foundation for Developing Countries in Bad Honnef, West Germany. Then from 1972-1975 she was the Development Secretary of Seva Mandir in Udaipur, India. Seva Mandir is a non-government organization working with the poorer segments of the population in Rajasthan, India.  During these four years Bhasin wrote extensively for newspapers on the rural realities and the impact of development programmes and policies on the rural poor. Since April 1979 Bhasin has been posted in FAO, New Delhi, to carry out an FAO-NGO South Asian Programme which works with and supports to NGOs, people's organisations, women's groups and poverty-oriented government programmes.