Acholi women
strong, shy, timid with men but fierce with one another
An unspoken rule that they are beneath men
Their place is in the kitchen
by the fire
Their role is to bear children
to carry on their family legacy through their little ones
Their survival to work the fields
Do they have rights? Could they refuse?
Must they always acquiesce to the man?
Like stacking firewood...one child after another
They are the pillars of this culture
the foundation of the community
They endure what they must because it is their life
It has been taught to them from a young age
Woven into the fabric of their thinking
Without them the crops are not harvested
the coals not stirred
the posha not made
Babies to be nursed
tied to their backs
while beans boil
and rice simmers...
*Sarah is one of the students here with us. Baby catcher + Talented Writer. Budding Poet discovered in Africa?
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