Our communities and societies often see merely a woman in you. But what they do not see is that we are a force to be reckoned with! A force so powerful yet soft in nature.
For that, we must embrace our womanhood with all its glorious and horrid manifestations. Because being merely a woman is a thing of pride! A powerful one, in fact!
Pride not contingent on the male gaze.
Pride not pegged to the number of children we bear or don’t bear.
Pride not measured by our cooking and tidiness skills.
Pride that does not boil down to between-the-sheets performance!
Pride so powerful that though created out of a rib, it doesn’t require the rib cage owner to slam and dunk.
Out of a rib, yet we carry power for the continuation of humankind.
Merely a woman, yet Mary didn’t need the original rib cage to deliver the gift that saved humanity for millennium.
Merely a woman, yet Rosa Parks needed nobody’s permission to sit!
Merely a woman, yet Harriet Tubman conducted trains that never derailed and caused chemical spills.
Merely a woman, yet Mother Teressa didn’t need an MRS degree to work on ending poverty.
Merely a woman, yet Zenzile Mama Africa, campaigned against apartheid with a style like nobody’s business.
Merely a woman, yet Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, blazed a trail
to become president of Liberia and promoted peace and development across the continent.
Merely a woman, yet Francine Niyonsaba, became a sports icon and inspiration to
Burundian women!
Wa mama na wa binti oyeee?
Daughters and mothers, hooray!!
A victory indeed this time! A woman because Omniscience knew the world could not exist without her power and magical being! So he said, let there be a woman! Let there be power to soften seas, mountains, valleys, lands, and above all, men! Power to bring chaos into order! A Power that heals a sore eye. A Power so soft yet strong beyond measure.
Not only does she hold the horizontal power of equalizing, trailblazing, and balancing the world. She also bore the source that reconciled and reconnected humanity to a historically greater vertical power!
Wa mama na wa binti oyeee?
So yes, Because being merely a woman is a thing of pride! Our power and capabilities are beyond measure. And history can prove we have persevered and fought the long good fight! Look at the strides we have made and the mountains we have climbed! Look at yourself! You’re a force to be reckoned with.
So you can release your inhibitions and take charge of the power vested in you. You don’t have to prove it to any man. Your mere existence is enough for the angels to clap and applaud! Because you are God’s trophy creation.
Wa mama na wa binti oyeee?
Daughters and mothers, hooray!!Turashoboye Kandi turi ibihangange
I am Bertha or Berita Nibigira, and my brand is Being a Third Culture Kid. I am originally from Burundi, but was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and spent ten years of my childhood and pre-teen years in Tanzania before my family relocated to the U.S. Now that I am past my identity crisis stage, I find true joy in incorporating every aspect of my identity in my blog ( beingathirdculturekid.com), poetry ( being_atc on IG/TikTok), and swimming (being_atc on IG/TikTok).
I love cultures and languages, and inspiring people to live out their best human versions through my work and in personal interactions.
“Merely a Women, Yet a Force to be Reckoned With” is one of my attempts to unpack my myriad experiences of growing up in a traditional East African household and religious community as a strong-willed girl and later on a woman with deep beliefs.
Image: MONUSCO Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
