When I was a young girl, the promise of education had never been something that was compromised. I was neither held back due to conservative ideals of womanhood nor financial deficiencies. For me, University had never been a 'what if'. With this acknowledgement comes the realisation that there are many privileges that I have unknowingly accumulated throughout my life, due to factors that I have had no influence over. It is a thought that consistently haunts me.
If I think of all the young girls that are out there in the world, the ones who have been denied the right to an education, I feel guilty. If I think of all those girls who have been brutally beaten and persecuted just for having thoughts that challenge the radical systems that they are governed by, I feel guilty. And if I think of the fact that I can write this - without having to worry about the threat of a savage government, I feel guilty. I feel so guilty, that it makes my mind numb and causes tears to leak profusely from my eyes. It just doesn't seem fair, how could it ever seem so?
The negative attitudes towards female education, across the globe, has been something that I have been aware of since I started my secondary education, yet Western media seems to perpetuate a clinical distance between its audience and the reality and thus I would fail to wholly comprehend the gravitas and heart breaking poignancy of it all. Having lived in a society that is somewhat 'past' those archaic beliefs, we appear to be hugely desensitized to such traumatic realities that are faced by many, because it doesn't happen to us anymore. It is no longer something we must witness in our day to day lives. Though, does that mean we should no longer help? Does that mean we should now be blinded by this superficial security and be lulled away from outstretching our hands back to the places where we came from?
As a young woman of colour I am hyper-aware of the considerable advantages that I have garnered as a result of my upbringing being within a liberal society. I know that I am one of the 'lucky ones'. Often the feeling that I am profiting from something, that I feel that I have never earned, unsettles me. To know that I have the means to pursue my interests when I could have been any one of those other girls, had things been different, is something that serves as an instant break in my thoughts.
I suppose it should motivate me. Make me grateful for what I have got. And it does, I can assure you that it really does. Yet, it feels somewhat ill-minded to merely feel grateful when I am brought to think of thoughts like that. I am always hounded by the thought that I should feel something else. That I should do something else, to make up for these privileges that have fallen into the laps of my own on an array of silver platters.
Earlier today, when I was thinking of this, I came to a slight understanding of these innermost thoughts of mine, I reasoned with my guilt.
In moments like this, feeling guilt before having the opportunity to do something remains futile. I am only a girl of seventeen and I have yet to obtain the chance of spinning the nature of the world within the palms of my hands. The only guilt that should be felt is by the people who have such means on the tips of their delicate fingers, yet remain silent. If I was ever to become that, then I should feel guilty. But not now.
I will grow and I will stand on the frontline for change. That is all I can do. That is all we can do. And that is all that we should do.
If you happen to be one of the lucky ones, as am I, then use your opportunities to cultivate growth and embolden humanity to flourish. Because, as one of the lucky ones, the most powerful thing that we have are our voices and it is this that we should use them for.
If I think of all the young girls that are out there in the world, the ones who have been denied the right to an education, I feel guilty. If I think of all those girls who have been brutally beaten and persecuted just for having thoughts that challenge the radical systems that they are governed by, I feel guilty. And if I think of the fact that I can write this - without having to worry about the threat of a savage government, I feel guilty. I feel so guilty, that it makes my mind numb and causes tears to leak profusely from my eyes. It just doesn't seem fair, how could it ever seem so?
The negative attitudes towards female education, across the globe, has been something that I have been aware of since I started my secondary education, yet Western media seems to perpetuate a clinical distance between its audience and the reality and thus I would fail to wholly comprehend the gravitas and heart breaking poignancy of it all. Having lived in a society that is somewhat 'past' those archaic beliefs, we appear to be hugely desensitized to such traumatic realities that are faced by many, because it doesn't happen to us anymore. It is no longer something we must witness in our day to day lives. Though, does that mean we should no longer help? Does that mean we should now be blinded by this superficial security and be lulled away from outstretching our hands back to the places where we came from?
As a young woman of colour I am hyper-aware of the considerable advantages that I have garnered as a result of my upbringing being within a liberal society. I know that I am one of the 'lucky ones'. Often the feeling that I am profiting from something, that I feel that I have never earned, unsettles me. To know that I have the means to pursue my interests when I could have been any one of those other girls, had things been different, is something that serves as an instant break in my thoughts.
I suppose it should motivate me. Make me grateful for what I have got. And it does, I can assure you that it really does. Yet, it feels somewhat ill-minded to merely feel grateful when I am brought to think of thoughts like that. I am always hounded by the thought that I should feel something else. That I should do something else, to make up for these privileges that have fallen into the laps of my own on an array of silver platters.
Earlier today, when I was thinking of this, I came to a slight understanding of these innermost thoughts of mine, I reasoned with my guilt.
In moments like this, feeling guilt before having the opportunity to do something remains futile. I am only a girl of seventeen and I have yet to obtain the chance of spinning the nature of the world within the palms of my hands. The only guilt that should be felt is by the people who have such means on the tips of their delicate fingers, yet remain silent. If I was ever to become that, then I should feel guilty. But not now.
I will grow and I will stand on the frontline for change. That is all I can do. That is all we can do. And that is all that we should do.
If you happen to be one of the lucky ones, as am I, then use your opportunities to cultivate growth and embolden humanity to flourish. Because, as one of the lucky ones, the most powerful thing that we have are our voices and it is this that we should use them for.
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