When I was a little girl. Part 1 : Dear schools.

- Sharicka Zutshi

Dear schools,

When I went to a girl’s school you fit me into corset like pinafores

When I went to a co-ed school you marked my dignity by the length of my skirt

Or looked down upon me for unshaven legs

It was almost like the length and presentability of my legs determined my femininity

Made me believe physical touch with the opposite gender was a sin

A sin that made me the dirtier counterpart

The boys were termed mischievous and us girls loose of character for the same demeanour

If my loud voice and stern lips refused to speak your words, I was opinionated and bossy

But if they did resonate with you against my belief system, I possessed “leadership skills”

You told me I could be anything but constantly tried to fit me into a mould of stereotypes I did not comply with

No makeup, no hairbrushes and even lip balms seemed like grooming to you

But if one hair in my ponytail were out of place I were “clumsy” and not well groomed enough

Let alone control of my words you controlled the way I styles my hair, two pigtails or one plait was a must to obtain my education even at the age of 16

But somehow this was an attempt to “maintain” my childish innocence, while you stripped me of it everyday

By telling me how to sit, act, talk and walk like a “lady”

Sometimes we bled and we paid our price for that, apparently aid to basic bodily functions didn’t fit into the lakhs of the school contract.

I am grateful for all I have from you, but I do wish that you notice this

The dress code was degrading, you said I mend myself rather than tell eyes not to follow me

I can be a lady even if my skirt is an inch above my knees

And my presentation is much more than vanity, it is an expression of myself.

I am more than what you restrict me to and I don’t blame you for living in the 1900s

But its 2019 and its time to change, as is the world around us.