2. gender based violence

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Utterly intrigued and dumbfounded. Never in his seven years of studying and four years of teaching, had he ever apprehended such a well put article. When it came to how he wanted things to be done. He was a hard man to please, his students hated him for his hard front. He loved his job, the best and worst was reading. He could go through scum and pieces of subliminal art in an hour. At most he could tell within a minute of reading that this may have been written exactly ten minutes before the deadline. Always striving to push them to write the best they could. He prided himself in his occupation. Being the youngest in his faculty at Hofstra University, it was always intimidating with nearly middle aged colleagues. Hofstra University a private university in Hempstead, New York. Long Island's largest private university, originally an extension of New York University. He had aimed for a job at NYU but as events unfolded he could only be grateful for the opportunity he received at Hofstra. At the beginning he had belittled it but with time, he settled in gracefully. As a very ambitious white man who came from a very accomplished background. He was well aware of his privilege as a white man in America. One thing he was passionate about was change, he wanted to see change in people's lives. If education was the change that would help an underprivileged person of color then so be it. He had received so many praises from students thanking him for always believing in them and pushing for them to be better even when they saw him as a hard-headed professor who could never be pleased. One thing he could never tolerate were students who came from privileged backgrounds and did not care for their academics. Students who were merely present for the sake of using the University name on the Instagram bio as well as being an attendee at the most recent bash, splurge, party or whatever it is that kids called it these days.

'I'm getting old.' Hunter thought to himself.

"Have you managed to read my blog for this week?" Rachel, his wife interrupted his thoughts with coffee. She gave him a perk on the cheek allowing him to have his third cup of the night.

"No, I got busy but I will be sure to read it." He replied wearily, the eyebags below his eyes visible. He stretched his arms having been sat in the same position for nearly two hours now. He could only be grateful to his wife for being understanding when he needed to put in extra hours instead of joining her in bed.

"Yeah, it was about c-section and natural birth. You know how women are shamed for giving birth through c-section and how if you did not do it naturally you're not woman enough. Those type of toxic feminism." Rachel explained. Their life was simple, she was a stay at home mom of one. Who prided herself in making their home beautiful, preparing home cooked meals, raising her daughter, running her family blog that got her a lot of following on many different platforms. They had fallen in-love, because of the interests they shared. She was a feminist, he was a...? He wanted change, be it with the metoo movement or black lives matter movement. With this they found a base, a love for change. They were always open to hearing each other's points of views on anything political or none-political. Rachel was graceful and radiant. Her intelligence drew him in, she was a public speaker. She was a woman who was always on her feet. Their love for writing brought them together. They had minor differences but always found a base for their love and a way to make it work.

"Interesting..." He muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. "Speaking of which one of my students wrote this amazing article on gender based violence happening in South Africa. Take a look—"

Rachel briefly perused through the document on her husband's laptop. Giving it a few nods, a smile and an intense sense of understanding... she drew back and whispered... "This is awful, why isn't this being aired in more places. I had no knowledge of it."

"Me neither and for this reason, men are trash will always be a leading hashtag." Hunter added, disappointed.

"This is why, I love you. You're so different from all these scums." She grinned. For a moment they stared at each other, then broke away from their thoughts. Five years of marriage and they were still utterly inlove. They had their ups and downs like any other couple but they always resolved it gracefully. They had a healthy communication construct, it worked well for them. "I'm honestly the lucky one." He replied.

"I will leave you to it." She murmured, giving him another perk on the lips. "Give him or her an A+ alright?" She echoed leaving his office. "Come to bed when you're tired, don't over do it Professor H. Clifford."

"I won't." He yelled back with a chuckle. Knowing she probably had not heard him. The sound proof walls in his office were something he had wanted every since Hailey was born. He adored his daughter so much. He loved being a dad. He remembered briefly when Rachel had informed him that she was pregnant at his parents anniversary party. One of the happiest days of his life.

Noting the name of the student who had written this beautiful piece. He murmured her name...

"Karishma Naidoo!"

He taught so many students and always forgot faces but he needed and felt a massive need to meet this Karishma.

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