What if Asian Women Stop Working?

If someone ask about ur wife
u may say
"oh she doesn't work"
but open wide ur eyes
I'm truly a slave
in the kitchen
in the factory
not a soul to help me
dirty pots
brooms
brushes
are all that stand around me
all the time

The day begins
amidst the wails of the young ones

"are my clothes washed?"
"mother, clean me"
"Please, mother, comb my hair"

"did u buy my book?"
"a pencil, i need a pencil"
"come on soon, u must take ur medicine"
"listen, is the meal ready?"
"it's very late...where's my lunch?"
"My shirt is crushed,
quick, just run the iron over it
gosh-aren't my shoes polished yet?
what a slow coach this woman is!"

At last they've all gone
i'm late too
looks like i've missed the train
crept onto a bus after waging a last fight,
stood on one foot
clinging like a bat to the pole
and who is this leaning against me
fun for them-agony for us
and if i don't make it to the market in the evening
we'll starve tomorrow

Here he comes, my man,
staggering home after work
and maybe next
he'll be punching me like a sack of grain

My body collapses
unable to bear all this
and yet I rise
again and again
to clean the house
and wash the clothes
no rest for me

And then
the night shift
and of course
overtime that must be done
some of my precious hours of rest
are swallowed up there

Truly
I am a machine
in the domestic factory
engaged in non-stop production

When will ur ever realize
that woman
belongs to that category of workers
who are truly essential for society to survive

[This poem was published by the woman's education and training Institute in Sri Langka on a leaflet distributed on the International Woman's Day in 1992]