By Masuma Kothari
(Several female athletes have been coerced to undergo partial clitoridectomies to participate in competitive sports. Read about female genital cutting (FGC) in sports here.)
“Let me try to feel this, as if I was you.
As a child I am embellished a rosy world of toys
which could draw up to any passerby without a doubt
what I am.
I grow fast and in symphony my speed at running, too,
adapts, I lean toward the world of athletics and
fitness treats.
I am changing, there are things happening to me,
fine hair shows up where they never were,
softer and fuller I feel,
I start to menstruate.
I definitely know what I am.
My emotions attract me toward wonderful boys,
They lure me into fantasies rolling up my eye.
I definitely know what I am.
All along I perform well, I score medals
after medals, I get noticed with victory bells
I get trained, I sit among the best runners,
my mind shifts into a resilient achiever with thick endurance,
representing every honour, I win all my fears
and I run like a cheetah after his dinner.
I still definitely know what I am.
What more evidence do you need,
I may be gifted
I may look testerone high
but how can you disregard
all that I have?
I am faced with a choice at
the time of my youth
the time when I am bleeding
to reach my dreams from root
Simply put, I have more courage
than being wise
so
I sit under the knife
And now you tell me if that is nice?”