Torn Dupatta | A Harsh Write-Up Bint-e-Azhar

 Torn Dupatta / Mob of Dogs

Returning from school one day,
I found a mob of dogs,
Their eyes hungry and wild,
Their mouths dripping with desire
To tear every bone from my skin.

My heart pounded in my chest,
Blood freezing in my veins,
My skin prickling with goosebumps
As terror surged through me.

They barked with cruel laughter,
Their eyes mocking the shiver in my step,
The tremor in my lips,
The desperation in my breath.
They circled me,
Licking their lips, tails wagging in anticipation.

I adjusted my scarf,
Fighting the fear,
And quickened my pace.
I was a girl.
I had to run.
I had to leave my dreams behind,
Even if it meant
Killing my own soul.

Because if my honor was tainted,
I would be the one condemned.
The dogs would fade away,
Leaving no trace but their saliva,
But my torn dupatta
Would tell the world a different story—
Of my destruction.

So I didn’t go to school the next day,
Nor the next,
Nor the days after.
Because the mob of dogs—

Biologically human boys,
But hungrier than the fiercest beasts,
Greedier than the lowest scavengers—
Had already killed me.

(This may be a work of fiction, but for countless girls, it is a harsh reality. If only we had embraced the teachings of Islam—Pardah for women and Ghazze Basar for men—how different, how beautiful, our world would be. A world where respect, dignity, and safety are not privileges, but rights for every soul. Imagine a society where no girl would have to fear the mob of dogs, and every heart could beat free, without the weight of shame or violence.)

~ Bint-e-Azhar

Feel free to drop down your feedback and comments 🫶👇