Shadows Of Scars

Design: Ragini

By: Tanya Shah

3rd year, B.A (Hons.) Journalism

It’s deeply disheartening,

to know that every woman -

regardless of age, regardless of place-

has been marked by some form of assault.

We carry these marks like invisible scars,

etched into our being,

a silent weight that never lightens.

The struggle is endless,

to live with the memories that refuse to fade,

to see every inch of your skin as a map of violations,

to hear those voices- threatening, relentless -

echoing in the hollow spaces of your soul.

Some days, the pain becomes so overwhelming

you want to peel off your own skin,

just to rid yourself of the memory

of someone who thought they had the right to violate you.

But change must begin within our own walls,

Ask the women we cherish, the silence calls,

What have they suffered, what pain did they bear?

What could we have done, if only aware?

As there is a story every woman carries,

Of long fought battle, a sea of anguish

And a darker past that often varies.

Yet the morning brings a ray of hope-

A chance to heal, to rise, to cope.