Central Asian Poetry on Womanhood and Liberation Part I4 min read
Foreword by Ella Kerr: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), a time to raise awareness about domestic violence, support survivors, and promote education around abusive behaviours — including emotional, psychological, and financial abuse, not just physical violence. In this context, “Never Enough” is an emphatic protest by Jahan Taganova, written in poetic form to illuminate her lived experience as a woman navigating the complex socio-cultural expectations of contemporary Turkmenistan, Central Asia. In this region, women and girls often live under systems that restrict or outright deny their selfhood — through law, patriarchal customs known as adat, and deeply rooted cultural gender stereotypes.
In Turkmen culture, patriarchy is deeply embedded in the fabric of political, social, and religious institutions, shaping belief systems from an early age. From childhood, individuals are conditioned to accept rigid gender stereotypes — where girls are expected to be pretty, have curvy bodies, and embody softness and fragility.
In Turkmenistan, women’s bodies are often treated as public property — constantly scrutinised, commented on, and judged. Catcalls and unsolicited remarks are disguised as compliments, praised as if they’re the highest form of flattery. In such a system, a woman’s body is not truly her own; she is objectified and reduced to her appearance, her worth measured in curves and compliance.
This separation of body from personhood is something Jahan experienced firsthand and voices powerfully in her poetry. She too was told she was “too thin, too flat, too nice, too meek.” These labels — meant to diminish — echo the deeply internalised belief that everyone is entitled to an opinion about a woman’s body. So let them, culture says — receive the judgment with grace. After all, your body is not yours.
“Like leeches, their words drain the joy from your soul,
Stripping self-love, leaving you unwhole.”
The consequences are lasting and severe: anxiety, shame, disordered eating, low self-esteem, and depression are common among women and girls forced to navigate these relentless pressures. Jahan draws on her personal experience with partnerships, where emotional abuse — subtle control, belittlement, and constant judgment — had corrosive effects on her self-worth.
The societal emphasis on female modesty places a disproportionate burden on women to constantly monitor their behaviour and bodies. Jahan captures this pressure in her writing:
“To fix the body, to tame the wild,
To silence the loud, suppress the free-spirited soul.”
When women fail to meet these expectations, they are often ostracised — dismissed by men as “too wild” for simply expressing autonomy or confidence.
The Turkmen feminine archetype is expected to be emotionless — always agreeable, pleasant, and never angry. Women are taught to be nice, not confrontational. Intelligence is perceived as threatening; if you appear too smart, it unsettles people. You’re not supposed to argue or express strong opinions, and you must never challenge men in power. Anger disqualifies you from being considered “nice.” The safest option? Smile — constantly — so no one suspects you’re upset.
Jahan reflects on this impossible standard in her writing, where she recalls being labelled by men as “too smart, too bold, too pretty, too tough.”
Unruly female sexuality — whether real or imagined — is often framed as a threat to masculine pride. Jahan draws on her intimate experiences, where emotional abuse within partnerships mirrored the same patterns of control, belittlement, and invalidation she observed in society.
Taganova’s poem “Never Enough” captures the impossible tension of womanhood under patriarchy with devastating clarity. The speaker is bombarded by a barrage of contradictory criticisms, exposing how any expression of agency, intellect, or even physical presence becomes ammunition for control and invalidation. These critiques are not mere words; they are acts of emotional violence, a form of domestic and social abuse that, as the poem reveals, “drain the joy from your soul” and “strip self-love.” Through this, Taganova lays bare the psychological toll of living under constant scrutiny and expectation.
Yet the poem doesn’t end in despair. It concludes with a powerful, defiant reclaiming of self:
“Break free!
Shatter the chains of men’s decree.”
In this final shift, the speaker reclaims her right to authenticity, self-love, and resistance — refusing to conform to the performative roles imposed upon her.
Never Enough
For some, you will never quite be enough:
“Too smart, too bold, too tough,
Too thin, too flat, too nice, too meek,
Too loud, too wild, too flawed, too weak.”
Like leeches, their words drain the joy from your soul,
Stripping self-love, leaving you unwhole.
“To fix the body, to tame the wild,
To silence the loud, suppress the free-spirited soul”,
These thoughts you bear,
A performative snare.
Erodes the essence of your vibrant life.
Break free!
Shatter the chains of men’s decree,
Purge their poison, let your spirit be.
Crack your heart open,
Let the self-love flow inside,
Breathe in your truth.
Let your essence abide.
For none can derail your feminine flame,
Your authentic identity and path are yours to reclaim.
