Afghan woman in Windsor finds empowerment through poetry

It was just six years ago when Bas Bibi Shiva boardedan airplane in Afghanistan leaving behind her family, friends and the country that she called home.

Among the items she took with her to Windsor, Ont. were five of her poetry books two of which remain unpublished.

• Read this story in Dari

She spoke to CBC News in Dari, one of the languages spoken in Afghanistan, about the difficulties she faced when she first moved to Canada and how poetry has helped her find a deeper connection to her new home.

"I was very sad," Shiva said. "I didn't know anybody. I was always quiet. I was always home. I would cry at home."

She was desperate for company, longing for Afghan friends who she could converse with in her mother tongue.

"Whenever I would see somebody that had dark hair, I would approach them and ask them if they're Afghan and they would say no. This would upset me further," she said.

Six years in Canada

A lot of has changed since then for Shiva who, despite living in downtown Windsor, commutes an hour to Leamington to work at Mucci Farms where she packages produce.

She's made friends and established a small network here, but still, longs for home.

"I still think about Afghanistan," she said. "I could never forget my country because that's where you've grown up."

The Voice of Women by Bas Bibi Shiva

4 years ago

Duration 1:02

Bas Bibi Shiva, an Afghan poet in Windsor, recites one of her poems, which translated from Dari is titled "The Voice of Woman." She left a difficult life in Afghanistan to come to Canada and credits poetry with helping her overcome adversity and finding a place to call home.

One way she stays connected to Afghanistan is through her poetry where she gets the opportunity to express herself in one of the country's most ancient art forms.

She says she writes about everything from motherhood, war, loneliness and life as an Afghan woman.

Do not label me helpless and oppressed. I am the strength of the oppressed.- An excerpt from one of Shiva's poems, The Voiceof Women

Poetry empowers Shivaas itallows her to share her innermost thoughtsand daily struggles to the public and connect with others who've shared her pain.

"The lives of women in Afghanistan compared to the lives of the women here in Canada are different. Over there, they abide by a different set of customs and traditions," she said, adding that Afghanistan is a theocratic nation that also practices polygamy.

Life for women in Afghanistan is difficult, she says

Although living in Afghanistan as a woman is challenging, according to Shiva who is a widow she says it's especially difficultwithout a husband who cansharethe responsibility ofraisingchildren and providingfinancial support.

Yet, she considers herself lucky to beeducated because she says many women back home aren't literate, adding that she worked as both a teacher and a midwife in Afghanistan in addition to writing poetry.

With three published poetry books under her belt, Shiva hopes to publish two more but this time, in Canada.

She wants to establish herself as a poet here and hopes to find an audience amongAfghan readers.

Although she missesher friends and family in Afghanistan, she says she'smade a home here in Canada.

"[Afghanistan] is still my home country, but now this is my home country, too."