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Women, Development and Empowerment: A Pacific Feminist Perspective

A MAN'S WORLD

page 27

A MAN'S WORLD

My brother can sit on the table
I mustn't
He can say what he likes whenever he likes
I must keep quiet
He can order me around like a slave
I must not back-chat
He gives me his dirty clothes to wash
I wish he could wash mine!
If he sits on the front steps
I must go round the back door
If the house is full
I must crawl on my hands and knees
I must walk behind him not in front
Watch my speech when he is in the house
Don't say “face” but say “front”
Not “teeth” but “stone”
Carry out my love affairs behind his back
Custom allows him to thrash both of us if caught
But he can carry on in front of me
That's his privilege
I must pay compensation
If I'm to get married
Or pregnant without a hubby
A brother can make a living out of his sisters!

by Jully Sipolo

From: Civilised Girl by Jully Siplolo, The South Pacific Creative Arts Society, Suva, Fiji, 1981