sexta-feira, 11 de fevereiro de 2011

Story of a Nobody [Human Rights: writing a Profile based on pictures]



My name is Abigail. My life began in the first day of 1937. When I first opened my eyes to this strange new world, I was shocked by the way people used women. I remember asking my mom why we were treated this way. As soon as I asked it, I saw her eyes getting flooded by thick sad tears as she said: “That’s just the way it is, princess.”
In 1942 I started my studies. The truth is I didn’t study like the boys did, for I was born with the curse of being a woman. I had to be taught by my mom, hidden from my father.  But soon my life turned into a burning hell. As my body started to mature, I noticed my dad started to look at me in a different way. A strange way. A disturbing way.
But if only his looks were my biggest problem… After a few months of a horrifying tension, he did it. I knew this would happen, I could see it coming, but there was nothing I could do… He raped me just about every day, day after day.
My youth was lived in a constant deep sadness. Inevitably, by the time I was 21, all that sadness turned into madness. I was sick of being nothing but my father’s personal cooker, house maid, escape goat and well… his sex slave. I simply could not take one more day of being used and abused.
So in that morning, his food was “accidentally” poisoned, and he passed away that afternoon while he was working. His funeral was attended by 30 men, but only 2 women: me and my mom. As we couldn’t hold back the tears, his friends came to comfort us. What they didn’t know was that these were tears of joy.
Once me and my mom found ourselves alone, we had to deal with one big problem: money. The first two months were hard to live. My mother was very old at that time, so she couldn’t work, and I was having a terrible experience finding a job. I finally started to work as a cleaning maid, in a car factory. The money I could save at the end of the month was usually around 2 dollars but still. I remember thinking about how much my life quality had increased.
Soon my co-workers noticed I was surprisingly good at leading the cleaning team. This surprised me as much as it surprised them! Shortly after, my chief retired, and invited me to take his place bossing the cleaning department. I was glad to accept this. New job, more money!
This means in 2 years time I was able to buy a new place to live in, together with my mom. I felt happy from the moment I realised I had managed to build my life with my own hands even though I knew there was a certain luck factor involved.
It was for all the women who do not have that luck factor and therefore are still enslaved of the fact that they are women that me and my mom created a movement to promote women’s rights.
I believe nobody should be treated different. I believe everybody deserves an opportunity. And I believe you too can have a better life. Even if you’re a woman.

Miguel Santos [12º1A]

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