END THE STIGMA
by Debra Ayis
Men can do no wrong
It had to be you; the woman.
You enticed him somehow
With your over-sized clothes
Naked unpainted face and untamed hair;
Your young innocent eyes,
Beguiled him like that of a practiced seductress
He took what was not his to take
His actions scarred you for life
He took your innocence
Making you a woman at the tender age of eleven
Yet society condemns the victim
Punishing till your blood is drained
Harlot they shout at you
They look at you like evil itself
No man will court you
Unsullied girls will not befriend you
So, when your friend told you what her uncle did,
You answered in fear,
knowing you had betrayed her to protect her future;
‘My dear friend, hold your peace and tell no one’
One martyr is enough.