When I was six years old,
I asked my parents if I could learn Tae-Kwon-Do.
Instead, they signed me up for a ballet academy.
And I loved it.
What girl wouldn’t?

When I was ten,
I dared to like a guy,
and my father said that no guy would ever touch his little girl
…while he gave me brother tips on how to get a girlfriend.
And I was confused.
What girl wouldn’t?

When I was thirteen,
I asked my mother if I could walk home like my brother did every day.
And she said: “Absolutely not. Not you.”
And I got pissed.
What girl wouldn’t?

When I was sixteen,
I finally got it.
When I disagreed with my father over some stupid statement,
and my mother said that it wasn’t lady-like to express my opinion in such strong ways.

That that was for men to do.

Was that what it was all about?
Me being anatomically different than my brothers?
Was it not enough that I had to deal with the stabbing-like pain of cramps every month?
Was it not enough that it was my job and expectation to endure childbirth?
The waxing, the shaving, the heels, the diets, the long hair, the make up… was none of that enough?
Did I now have to be fine with being labelled as weak and submissive as well?
I wanted to scream!

But instead I closed my eyes,
And I thought my words through,
And I thought my words through,
And I thought my words through.
And I knew what to say
And I knew how to say it,
And I opened my mouth but I couldn’t.

I couldn’t say anything.

I wish I could say that the words got stuck in my head.
But they didn’t.
They got stuck in my heart.
Because my heart knew how a lady behaves.
My heart was taught not to argue,
my heart was taught to agree,
my heart was taught to sit down, stay quiet and smile.
Because my heart was just a decoration in the room.
My heart didn’t count,
and neither did I!

And that’s when I decided my heart needed a new teacher.

My heart needed a teacher that was willing to risk comfort
with the objective of breaking the confinement of the dreaded word: kitchen.
A teacher that was more focused on what I was capable of doing
Rather than on what I should be doing.
A teacher with no prior judgement,
A teacher that was a rebel to society.

Society has taught us women that we don’t own this space, we borrow it.
Well, I say we all get a teacher that values equality and discourages injustice.
What girl wouldn’t?