Oh! Wonderful Woman

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

Unbound from the shackles of submission to hypocrisy,

Unbound from the shackles of harassment from this dominating world.

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

Independent, passionate, bold and strong,

Feminism isn’t about making women strong,

We are already strong.

It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

A mother, daughter and sister,

I revolve around with these attributes.

Fuelled by self-reliance and determination,

An all pervasive Shakti.

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

A friend, wife, lover and consort,

I fill up the world of my friend, husband and beloved.

Willingness to listen, patience to understand, strength to support and heart that always cares,

An all immanent soul.

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

Whether a yakshi, rakshashi, dyan or sorceress,

She is at times called by these detestable, unrespectable, abominable names.

Forgetting the truth that they are the spirits of innocent women,

Returned to take vengeance on the people who wronged them.

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

A baby, girl, lady or woman,

We weren’t created to do everything a man can do.

We were created to do everything that a man couldn’t do.

This uniqueness is universally incomparable,

Free, fierce and feminist,

Yes, I am a woman.

Goddess Kali, goddess Laxmi and goddess Saraswati,

I am an incarnation of this supreme power.

A slayer of wrong, giver of wealth and bestower of knowledge,

An important part of the holy trinity, an all-encompassing mother,

Oh, wonderful woman, you are blessed.

Free, fierce, docile and feminist,

Proud to be one amongst all,

Yes, I am a woman.

Yes, I am a woman.

Yes, I am this wonderful woman.

Aparna Patwardhan Bhat.