Letter to my Future Daughters

Mis amores,
I sit here trying to imagine what you’ll be like. I wonder if you’ll take after me in any way, if you’ll share my passions and my dreams. I try to picture what the world will be like in ten, twenty, thirty years, and I see...I hope...for a world of limitless opportunity for men and women of all ages. But mostly, I hope for a world without violence, a world where you will never have to suffer for being you.

You see, I still live in such world. At this moment, I can’t say that men and women have taken up arms to fight and finally eradicate violence against women. Don’t despair, my daughters, for there are many, like your mother, who believe that such a world is possible, and not simply an ideal. But unfortunately, the time has not yet come.

I hear of the atrocities committed to women of all ages world-wide; atrocities which do not even bear mentioning. I still live in a world where a woman is told to avoid certain behaviour that makes her more prone to violence. And I have the misfortune of living in a country where 1 in 4 women will be raped in their lifetime.

So, my daughters, as I write this letter to you, I hope with every fibre of my being that someday, be it in my lifetime or in yours, enough people will wake up and refuse to let violence against women be the norm. I dream that one day, this issue, instead of being regarded as an insurmountable challenge, will be met with strength and unity and above all, hope. Because I want you, my future daughters, to live in a world where violence is a thing of the past; where your spirit will be free to soar with the highest clouds and you will never have to fear for your safety.

I know that this day will come. For you and for women all over the world. And I hope I can be there with you when it does.

With all my love,
Tu mamá