"What's on your mind?" Mats asked Abi. She looked like she was thinking about something. "Downtrodden doozies and winded waxers." "I'm sure you're going to explain what you mean." "Downtrodden doozies are people who are mistreated because they are thought to be troublesome, difficult or problematic. When slaves rebelled against their masters, they were seen as troublesome …
Zoey’s Story
"Zoey, what are you doing here?" "I needed to see you. Please, may I come in?" He sighed heavily. "All right, come in." She went inside and after he shut the door, he faced her. He leaned against it, arms folded, looking down at her. She looked so young and reminded him of a waif. …
My Co-worker
This week is the first week I'm working from home because of COVID-19. It's been challenging because I liked going into the office and interacting with my co-workers. I miss the face to face contact, going for walks, lunch and coffee breaks. I miss goign for my morning jog or to the gym but I …
You Matter
All my life I saw myself the way others did. I was insignificant. I didn’t matter. I was unloved. I was neglected, ignored, mistreated and devalued. Why? I was a girl. In some cultures, being a girl was an undesirable thing. People didn’t want daughters. They wanted sons. My parents were no different. When I …
Thomas and Tracey
My nephew, Sam and I were on a double date with a mother and her daughter. It has been a long while since I have even thought about dating again. Eight years ago I lost my fiancee, Brenda. She was killed by a drunk driver just weeks before our wedding. It took a long, long …
Gender-Selective Infanticide
Over 50,000 baby girls are aborted every month in South Asia – just because they were girls - Gospel for Asia According to writer and gender-activist Rita Banerji, "Females are being killed in India at every stage of life, before and after birth, only because they are female" It has been said that the three deadliest …
International Day of the Girl
On my twelfth birthday, I sat on the cold ground in a corner of a dark room with my knees drawn up to my chin and my arms wrapped around them as the tears rolled down my dirty cheeks. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to sleep because I was afraid that he would come back and hurt …