A Poem: Another Reason to Stop the Act of Child Marriage.
The only thing he offered was terrible memories,
but I felt too weak to fight,
I was betrothed to him before I could differentiate between the male and female gender,
It had become a custom in my hometown,
we were not allowed to make the choice of a life partner,
we had to agree with whomsoever loved us as a child and paid for us to be kept,
Mum had sworn not to allow her children to go through the same experience she had,
she had fought with every power she had,
but her strength had to give way when there was no money to put food on the table,
she had cried out her eyes on the day I was to go to my husband's house,
poverty had silenced her this time around,
Dad had threatened that it was either I got married or he was going to send us all out of the house,
my uneducated mother and unskilled mother has only been taught how to be a housewife all her life,
no skill to raise money for us, if she was going to survive she needed to remain married,
she however pleaded with my husband to allow me to go to school,
he was generous enough to permit that as long as I remain married to him.
As soon as I turned thirteen, Mum made sure to explain the entire process to me,
I didn't want to get married I cried and screamed,
I want to become a doctor Mother, I want to go to school,
Mother cried with me but there was nothing she could do about it,
my husband had been in charge of my education and that gave him the complete right over me.
After the marital rights were complete, I became confused as to what my life would look like without my Mother,
I had no idea about what to do to make this man happy as Dad had instructed,
I sat on the little stool in the room as my wandering eyes searched for answers to my disturbed mind,
a woman who appeared to be the same age as my mother came into the room,
she told me to obey every instruction my husband gives to me,
I wondered why everyone kept mentioning the need to be obedient,
I did not have any option anyways, I was going to do whatsoever I was asked to do.
After some hours, my new husband came in and asked me to lie on the bed,
I obeyed gently as I have been instructed,
he ordered me to take off my clothes and I did,
he took off his clothes as well and every other thing from that time was pain,
I screamed and cried for help but no one was there to help me,
was this the reality of marriage? I asked myself without getting any response,
would I go through this pain everyday,
After two days of intense pain,
I wanted to speak with my mother,
I wanted to ask questions and get answers,
so I ran through the gate as long as my legs could carry me,
I wanted to stay with my Mum, I did not deserve this life of pain,
but before I got home, some strong hands pulled me back,
I realized they were guards from my husbands house,
I was dragged back home while I cried for help,
my angry husband waited angrily for me and warned me never to think of escaping again
I belonged to him now he mentioned angrily.
It was eight months since I got married, I was already pregnant and all I knew was extreme tiredness and pain,
I was not allowed to do any other thing than to sleep, eat and obey the instructions of my husband,
it was a terrible experience and everyday I yearned for peace.
the peace I had no idea on who could give to me.
On this particular day, I was told my baby was coming to the world,
this pain was more than the one's I had felt in the past,
my Mum was with me, holding my hands,
gradually I felt some peace sliding in and oh my this is what have longed for since the beginning of this marriage,
the peace crept in slowly and I was not going to fight it,
I could hear my Mum and the other women scream,
but I wanted this peace more than anything in the world so I yearned for more of it,
finally I closed my eyes to every pain I had ever felt and to everyone who caused the pain,
I knew it did not start with me and it will not end with me,
but if I had a choice, I would have gone for a different path,
I would have chosen a different fight,
I would have chosen a different journey.
I am dedicating this to every female child who has been forced into child marriage, I hope this dirty act stops and these kids are allowed the chance to live.