Whitlam Institute

What Matters 2019 Shortlist

What Matters 2019 Shortlist

Why?

Why?

Daisy Martin

Year 6, Caringbah North Public School

Women

Here we are

Standing strong.

Trying to be happy,

But not for long.

Why do people ask,

“Why aren't you wearing make up?”

“Why aren't you smiling?”

But here is my question,

Why?

Even when we try to be happy with our selves

We never get far because,

Girls still lie in bed at night,

Crying tears of hurt.

Crying from the comments like,

“You're too fat!”

“Where are your curves?!”

They were knives in her heart.

And she cried

And cried.

Because she bled when she fell,

Because she was only human.

But what matters right now

Is that she is not here.

She was unhappy.

She wasn't pretty enough

She wore too much makeup

She wasn't skinny enough

She had anorexia

But never perfect.

And in the end

It ended her.

Why?

Because she was never told

That she was enough

That she was beautiful

Smart

Creative

Strong

Perfect

Enough.

Girls MUST be told this

Why?

Because,

When girls ask their mothers

“Why did he brush my idea aside?

Why did he not take me seriously when I said no?

Why don't they listen when I try to speak up?!”

And the answer still is,

That we are not all treated equally.

And this is the problem.

Some people would try to deny it,

But it is those people who create this problem.

And in the end,

My opportunities,

My rights,

My dignity,

Are sacrificed.

To satisfy society's image

Of a pretty girl,

Who needs a man.

Why?

But I will fight.

The reason being,

That people still say,

 “We don't need feminism,

You already got the vote!”.

But why does my mum earn less than my dad?

Why is it harder for a single mother to support a family?

Than a single father?

Why do young women go into the real world

And get treated differently than men?

But blame themselves,

For not getting all the same opportunities.

Why?

However,

 I will get my opportunities

I will have my rights

I will have my dignity.

And by the time I'm 30

There will be no pay gap

There will be no sexism

Why?

Because I will make it so.

Because sexism is a battle,

That we all need to fight,

Until the vote is unanimous,

That everyone is equal.

Because this matters to me.

So here is my message,

To any girls who doubt themselves.

And I will say this until every girl believes me,

You are enough.