Someone Had to Know How to Spell “Eviction”

They used to stop us.

Said it was dangerous for a girl to know too much.

Said softness and silence were enough.

That the pen didn’t suit our hands

and the book would spoil our minds.

We weren’t allowed to read.

Not out loud.

Not alone.

Not in front of men who feared being outgrown.

They hid the letters.

Told us wisdom belonged to them—

told us we were better off with our heads bowed,

our mouths shut,

our eyes trained on soup pots and needlework.

But we were watching.

We always were.

Learning in the corners,

sounding out syllables in the dark,

memorizing receipts and recipes,

repeating what the teachers said to our brothers

after the doors were closed.

We learned anyway.

---

Now look.

The world has turned.

And we’re the ones reading.

Reading contracts.

Reading prescriptions.

Reading between the lines.

We’re filling out the forms,

signing our names,

double-checking the fine print

before a man loses the land his grandfather left him.

We’re answering the questions

at the immigration office,

at the bank,

at the school,

while the man beside us shrugs and looks away

because reading is not his thing.

He could have learned.

He still can.

But he won’t.

Because now,

somewhere deep inside,

he believes it’s a woman’s job to know everything.

---

And maybe he’s right.

Not because it should be.

But because we made sure it could be.

Because someone had to know how to spell “eviction.”

How to read the water meter.

How to follow the dosage.

How to keep the children from being tricked.

We weren’t allowed to read.

Now we’re the only ones who do.

And while they fumble with pride,

dragging their heels through a world built on paperwork and passwords,

we're the ones holding the ink.

We used to be punished for knowing.

Now we’re punished for being the only ones who do.

But still,

we read.

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