SPY EYES

By Ayesha Zee Khan

I salute you, for you are an inspiration

A country: that put you in gradation

For them, let your brilliance shine through

Your wisdom increased as you grew

Resilience in you is your donation

For a society that uses condemnation

All your achievements leave them blue

They often question: How could it be you?

Being steadfast you show determination

Your enthusiasm packed in acclamation

They seem to have a second hand view

Of your success, this makes a queue

For the young girls who follow in admiration

A will to stand up and prove their qualification

They stop your progress, you already knew

Your chains stretch a little, understand a few

A daughter is a mother’s proud possession

Whereas a father’s joyous adoration

What is the difference of importance so undue?

For a girl, the mutuality of parentage eschew

Prove them, you have a solid foundation

Their faults & catastrophe’s aren’t your negation

Pack codes and tribal laws do not glue

The triumphs of a female & her debut

Into this world of equality which is God’s formation

Woman of Pakistan, in standing up is your salvation

The future and destiny that our Lord drew

Has your share in it when you know it is true!

(This poem is dedicated to Samina Baig, the first Pakistani female Mountaineer to climb any unclimbed peak in the Karakorum Range. Extreme Adventure - Chaskin Sar Expedition, 2010) and the rest of the Pakistani Women who are proving that they CAN and WILL.