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<\/p>\nRamma Cheema, the founder of the multiple award-winning social impact organization Beti, works to empower women and girls throughout Pakistan via a myriad of far-reaching and impactful projects.<\/p>\n
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Her work often brings her across instances where she and other females are overwhelmed by circumstances and find themselves psychologically and physically trapped. Over the years, she found solace in the quiet power of poetry, and shared the following poignant poems with ProPakistani.<\/p>\n
Her first poem is about how a female, who is essentially and inherently strong, has many roles to play, but she is forced, bullied, and abused into becoming what a patriarchal society wants to stereotype her into. Eventually, she finds her strength in her mind and breaks free, and is reborn like a phoenix from the ashes.<\/p>\n
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She is brave,
\nShe is strong.
\nTitles gone all wrong.<\/p>\n
What you see
\nIs yours to own.
\nThe box you built
\nLeaves her torn.<\/p>\n
Her life ticks and tocks
\nDay and night;
\nEmotions on rocks.<\/p>\n
Blood boils in her head;
\nHeart heavy, needing rest.<\/p>\n
You bully, you take.
\nYou kill, you rape.<\/p>\n
Let her live.
\nLet her breathe.<\/p>\n
She shuns your titles,
\nBreaks your shackles.<\/p>\n
Her wings emerge;
\nTakes mighty flights in happy swings.<\/p>\n
On her own now;
\nFree mind and free soul,
\nWith her spirit ablaze<\/p>\n
Her life begins.<\/p>\n\t\t
Her second poem, Mai, Ni Main Kinnu Aakhaan?<\/em>, stems from her experience as the mother of a son and explores the often debilitating filial sense of duty that numbs and mutes a person.<\/p>\n Raw and bloodied; Claws that clutch He will not say. He is his mother\u2019s savior. Stand tall, my beloved. Skin that burns now, Seep in guilt, Ammi, who do I tell?<\/p>\n Mai, ni main kinnu aakhaan<\/em>?<\/p>\n\t\t People around the world have experienced varying types and levels of trauma on personal and national levels. While we cannot ignore how hard things have been during the pandemic, expressing how anxiety, stress, trauma, and depression have affected us is one of the bravest things we can do.<\/p>\n One way to deal with them is to express them through the arts and poetry. Poetry, in particular, allows people to find solace, and articulate and distill emotions and difficult experiences into curated expression. Besides being cathartic and therapeutic for the writer, poetry also bonds people closer together with its permeability, which can, in turn, lead to recovery and growth.<\/p>\n Poetry helps us realize that we are not singled out by our suffering but are brought into the shared lives and experiences of all who have lived and died before and with us. It helps to perpetuate an arc of thinking, connectedness, and even internal healing.<\/p>\n Ramma Cheema is a media and advocacy expert with 10 years of experience in several fields. She is currently a TV anchor for PTV in Lahore, for two shows that she curated and hosts \u2013 Smart World<\/strong><\/em> and Hashtag.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n What do you think of her heartfelt poems? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ramma Cheema, the founder of the multiple award-winning social impact organization Beti, works to empower women and girls throughout Pakistan via a myriad of far-reaching and impactful projects. Her work often brings her across instances where she and other females are overwhelmed by circumstances and find themselves psychologically and physically trapped. Over the years, she found solace in the quiet […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":381391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2503,2199,2546,2538,2547,2530],"tags":[],"adace-sponsor":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-381382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-exclusive","8":"category-featured","9":"category-literature","10":"category-mental-health","11":"category-poetry","12":"category-social-issue-cause"},"wps_subtitle":"Over the years, she has found solace in the quiet power of poetry.","img_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/lens-364x205.jpg",364,205,true],"medium":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/lens-758x424.jpg",758,424,true],"full":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/lens.jpg",1000,560,false]},"author_name":"Sana Roger","categories_name":["Exclusive","Featured","Literature","Mental health","Poetry","Social Issue\/Cause"],"title_text":"Beti\u2019s Founder Ramma Cheema Addresses Female Empowerment and More in Raw Poetry","related_stories":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?filter&per_page=4&categories=2503,2199,2546,2538,2547,2530&exclude=381382","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381382"},{"taxonomy":"adace-sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/adace-sponsor?post=381382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Mai, Ni Main Kinnu Aakhaan? <\/em>(Mother, Whom Do I Tell?)<\/h3>\n
\nOnly a small boy.<\/p>\n
\nHis innocence, his ruin;
\nThe feast of the devil.<\/p>\n
\nHe must not.<\/p>\n
\nHis sister\u2019s warrior<\/p>\n
\nBe my shelter,
\nEarn my bread.<\/p>\n
\nHands that tremble.
\nCrevices of the heart;
\nThose are now cracked.<\/p>\n
\nSeep in shame.
\nDevour me.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t\tALSO READ<\/div>\r\n\t\t\tInternet Calls Priyanka Chopra a Hypocrite for ‘Selective Activism’ for Muslim Women<\/a><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\nEditor’s Note<\/h3>\n
About Ramma Cheema<\/h3>\n
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