Vale Preethi Reddy - I stand with you

Preethi 
 
Today I affirm my feminist resolve.
Today I promise to call it what it is.
Today I encourage my sisters to stand together and say it has to end.
This hatred of women
This litany of male entitlement
This perpetuation of the myth that women are victims
 
It must stop with you
It must stop with you Preethi
It must stop today
It must stop
 
There is a howling in my heart
For the woman you were
For child you were, bright eyed and thirsty for knowledge
For the years I spent with you
 
I am stunned
This time I know the face
Smiling at me from papers and on screen
A smile I knew well
A face I loved
 
There is a rage building in me
A wave so huge it could engulf the world

I will cover myself in steel
Take my shield onto my shoulder
And stand against the men who did this to you
Not just one man
But many
Puny little men who think the world owes them
Nasty little men who think women are beneath them
Men with no respect.
 
Their days are numbered.
Starting today.
It all must stop with you.