“The first boy who held my hand

Told me that boys don’t want to hear about vaginas bleeding

Younger me could smell the misogyny

Vaginas only meant to be f****d

Breasts only meant to be sucked

Mouths only meant to blow

It’s true I know.”

Aranya Johar’s spoken word performance – A Brown Girl’s Guide to Gender – pulls no punches, and has no gentle beginnings to ease one in.

Tackling the sensitive issue of sexual violence against women, the spoken word poem hits out at the various forms in which such violence manifests. From objectification to sexism to misogyny to victim blaming, Aranya’s powerful performance touches on the many silences, hypocrisies and ugliness surrounding these issues.

Uploaded by UnErase poetry on March 11, the video of her performance has since gone viral on social media, gaining over 1.2 million views on Facebook. Watch it here:

In under three minutes, Aranya talks of how women’s clothes are scrutinised, their body parts dehumanised, children sexualised and their virginity idolised.

She also touches upon the ‘Not All Men’ trend – something which forces women to pacify the male ego every time they point out the male privilege and sexism. In a subdued tone, Aranya says: “I know it’s not an all men thing, trust me, I do. But the men I can trust are only a few.”

She ends by reaching out for allies for women’s rights, encouraging people to question and understand the issues she points to.