To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

I don’t want you to imagine a future where you didn’t feel safe to be you. Where you don’t feel safe to be a Muslim, because your religion that preaches tolerance somehow becomes equated with the very few who have chosen terror. As if seeing your fellow Muslims being killed every day to the point where you’ve become numb isn’t enough, you now have to watch your president numb the entire country. You have to watch him propose a ban, because somewhere along the lines, Islam has become the biggest threat to America. Somewhere along the lines, you have become the threat to America. Let him know:

I am Muslim and I am afraid.

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

You have watched the color of your skin effect you like it never has before. I know you have never felt significantly impacted by the color of your skin, until you saw how his misleading perceptions of people of color seemed to resonate with millions. Maybe it’s how his white fragility couldn’t accept an African American president, so he started a movement to challenge whether or not Obama was an American, whether or not he was qualified to lead, just because of the color of his skin. Or how about how he continues to dismiss that police brutality is a problem? The fact that black moms are tucking in their sons and praying to god that they will be able to do it tomorrow isn’t enough.  Let him know:

I am a person of color and I am afraid.

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

The biggest part of your identity today is that you are a woman. Watching a woman get to the final stage was life changing and I know you are thankful that she fought. Fought everyone who said she wasn’t enough. She knew she was enough. You may not agree with her at every turn, but she was never apologetic for being a woman. She was proud to be a woman. It’s something that has been the greatest factor in many of your decisions. I know it continues to puzzle you why your future is still being decided by men. Men whose gender has probably been the biggest factor in their lives. They will never experience childbirth, yet they can decide that an unborn child is worth more than the mental health of the mother. They get to decide that birth control isn’t as important as a company’s religious stance. They believe defunding an organization that helps millions of women by providing health services that they couldn’t otherwise afford is justified. To top it all off, our president elect has spent a good portion of his campaign perpetuating rape culture. He has written off his behavior as “locker room talk” and it’s disgusting. He has reduced women to their sex appeal and justifies his harassment by victim blaming. He is diminishing the severity of sexual assault making it easier for victims to be silenced. By desensitizing Americans to his actions, he has made America an even more unsafe place to speak up for fear of being another voice lost. Let him know:

I am a woman and I am afraid.

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

Today, you have fears not only for you but for everyone who is being directly impacted by this election. You watch your friends, members of the LGBTQ+ community fear if they will have the right to marry who they want, or identify as themselves. You watch your Hispanic friends fear having their families torn apart. You watch as the nation that sparked in you a fire for change, slowly begin to silence you. You see the voices who were just beginning to be heard, slowly fade. You begin to hear your voice slowly fade. Let him know:

We are American and we are afraid.

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

As the nation divides, the voices we hear are those who are strong. They are voices of those who won’t let the system silence them. They know their stories are different, and that they have seen different struggles, but they also know the future belongs to all of us. It belongs to the Muslim woman of color, because her story is the future. Because her voice is the future. Her voice that will not stay silent and let racism, xenophobia, misogyny and ignorance win. That’s not to say that these are the only things 60 million voices saw in their choice. But even if it isn’t the reason they voted for him, it wasn’t a deal breaker.  This is why your voice matters even more. Because they were willing to overlook it. They were willing to overlook you.  

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

These next two months, I hope know you will grow as person.  Speak out, because you can. Speak out because your future is too important.  Speak out because some aren’t here to do so.

And as far as the next four years, take it one day at a time. You are allowed to be scared. This is scary. What you are not allowed to do is let the fear define you. You are not allowed to hate define you.  You are so much more. Let this be a turning point. Speak out because being silent will let the fear destroy you.

To the girl who is being silenced,

I know you’re scared. But please don’t disappear. Don’t let him define you. Your voice matters.

Sincerely

The girl who was not silenced.