Uxbridge College student Rachel Fernandes is one of a number of women whose original poetry is now being showcased on Hillingdon Women’s Centre’s website.
Her poem ‘Nobody Owns Her’ was one of a high number written and submitted by women across the borough, with the best being chosen and published on the ‘Community Hub’ section of the Centre’s website.
Submissions were invited to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on the theme of the ‘resilience of women’.
Rachel’s poem, along with information about how to get help for domestic violence whatever your identifying gender or cultural background, was also circulated to all students and staff at Uxbridge College.
Izzy Sutherland, Project Support from Hillingdon Women’s Centre, said: “Thank you so much to Rachel for writing this incredibly moving poem to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. We are overwhelmed by the amount of responses we've received from students at Uxbridge College.”
Hillingdon Women’s Centre, based in Long Lane, Hillingdon, is a charity which provides support and opportunities for women regardless of all ages, background, and culture and sexual identity. Their main services are related to domestic abuse and they also work with women experiencing mental health difficulties, unemployment, isolation, as well as those needing legal and benefits advice.
Nobody Owns Her
Nobody owns her
She's just a woman but a whole lot of explosion
She believed in her heart and still has a whole lot of sparkle
Flames of fire burning in her eyes
Pay no heed to the critics but she’d hurdle
Got her feet grounded beneath the surface
Standing a little taller
Chin a bit higher
She got the power, Cause nobody owns her
There's more to her then just what they know
Her comeback cannot be tamed but she’d hustle
And when she quit, she still rise higher
Unmasking herself, fixing her crown
Speaking a bit louder
Soul a bit stronger
Heart a little prouder, Cause nobody owns her
She's just a woman but she's unstoppable
She needs no one to believe in her, Cause no one can stop her
Nobody owns her.
Rachel Fernandes.