What do you mean ‘shut up?’ You shut up and listen to us

It is us who are beaten. It is us who are harassed. Even when we are only children, it is us who are raped by dozens of you, by police officers and “haji” grandfathers… 

In courtrooms, it is us who are blamed because we “consented.” 

It is us who are forced to take off our school uniforms to put on wedding gowns and as if very necessary, we are made to put on that red belt, symbolizing virginity…

We are the ones who lose our lives…

We are the ones whose body parts are wrapped in plastic and dumped in garbage containers… We are killed by axes and rifles…

If we ask you, it is us who are guilty, who are responsible for honor, who “wag our tails;” you are the ones who are enticed…

Now, get real!

While one out of three of your sentences contain the most vulgar curses based on sexual organs, it is us who are accused when we speak scientifically and say “vagina.”

While you are defined with one world, “man,” we are not good enough to be only a “woman” but we are deemed worthy of being a daughter, a sister and/or a mother… 

With all kinds of adjectives, by being a “flower,” by being “sacred,” it is us who are exploited in every field of life. 

It is us whose teenage sons are murdered with bullets and bombs… Moreover it is us who are booed at political rallies because of this…

It is us who hold the photographs of our sons tightly to our chests and pace the courthouse corridors. We are the ones who have gathered every week for the past 20 years to pursue non-existent justice… 

It is us who cannot even find the bones of our sons and daughters… It is us who cry our hearts out, hugging the coffins wrapped in flags… We are the ones who stand in front of diggers to protect our parks… It is us who guards our creeks and chase away the so-called “developers.” It is us who resist the administration to stop tar from being poured into our valleys…

We are the ones who, despite being beaten at the police station, nevertheless, do not step back…

We have water cannons at our chests… It is us who are handcuffed and dragged to the ground…  

It is us who work 12 hours in the fields… We are the ones who work the cattle morning and night, climbing kilometers of hills, while you drink coffee at the coffee house… As if it is not enough, we are the ones who clean the house, cook and take care of the children…

We earn less than men who do the same job… When we call for “equality and rights,” it is us who are shunned by saying “it is the nature of things…” 

We are the ones who are treated as if we were incubators…

You are the ones who make war; we are the ones who pay the price…

You are the ones who fuel violence; we are ones who cry their breath out chanting “peace.”

And now you tell us to shut up as a woman…

Get real…

The situation you have transformed this country into, as man to man, is out there…

Even if you beat, kill, yell at, humiliate and make us experience unexplainable pains, when did we ever shut up, that we should shut up today? 

We are not oppressed even if you oppress us.

If it is the nature of things, then here you are; this is also the nature of things.

Maybe our eyes water quickly but it is not because of weakness, it is in order not to transform our rage into weapons like you…

Even if you kill us by inches, even if you tell us “it does not suit a woman,” we will continue to laugh at the highest level… 

Do not assume we are enemies to all of you... We most love the ones who are like us…

We will not shut up as women… You will shut up and listen to us. 

If we shut up one day, then you should be afraid. Beware of that calm before the storm.

You should be thankful that we do not shut up. 

And be thankful that while you turn life on this world into a nightmare, we are still able to have beautiful dreams.