The braid that became a bridge

Foreword

The next chapter in my political poems:
Girls’ and women’s rights—not something most boys my age are thought to care about—matter deeply to me. Freedom and dignity are universal rights; they shouldn’t be restricted by gender, ancient texts, or writings from figures with flawed morals that some claim to be divine words. No righteous god would deny people self-expression, especially while claiming we’re made in its image. Boys, girls, men, women—we all deserve autonomy. Being oneself isn’t evil; evil lies in shackling others under the guise of righteousness.

Note: “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” (زن، زندگی، آزادی) originates from the Kurdish slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (ژن، ژیان، ئازادی), meaning Woman, Life, Freedom. It has become a unifying cry against oppression in Iran and beyond—resisting hijab laws, systemic gender apartheid, patriarchal control, state violence, censorship, and religious authoritarianism across ethnic and class lines. It became globally recognized after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian, died in custody following her arrest by Iran’s morality police (گشت ارشاد) for “improper hijab.” Her death ignited nationwide protests against gender apartheid and religious authoritarianism, proving that tyranny cannot suffocate collective demands for dignity.

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Poem: The braid that became a bridge [Free-verse]

She plaits her hair like a secret at dawn—
not silk or ribbon, but fists being born.
Each strand a wire, each knot a no,
a storm in the making they’ll never outgrow.

Schoolyard chalkboards scream Zan, Zendegi, Azadi!
Girls carve their names where the walls used to be.
Scissors snip curls—not shame, but a spark—
her crown is now a flag bleeding light in the dark.

They said “Your voice is a moth—easy to crush,”
but she’s the whole sky, and her wings scream “Hush!”
In Kurdish deserts, Tehran’s cold rails,
her laugh is a wildfire no tank can derail.

Watch how she marches in shoes split at the seams—
not asking for mercy, but dismantling regimes.
For every “good girl” taught to shrink, to obey,
she’s rewriting the night into her kind of day.

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