Media release:
Because I am a girl I must study

17 March 2007

During this month of the international celebration of women, the Rwanda Association of University Women would like to share with all Rwandans this inspiring poem by Indian feminist, Khamla Basin.

As President Kagame said in his address to the nation on International Women’s Day, gender equality is not just women’s business but everybody’s business. Education of women and girls is the basis of national development.

Because I am a girl I must study

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, here’s 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 men’s 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.

-- Khamla Basin