Everything Belongs to the Rotten? – A Woman’s Reading

A reflection on Humayun Azad’s poem from a contemporary societal and female perspective

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Some writings do not predict the future. They point us to the present. Humayun Azad’s poem “Everything Will Belong to the Rotten” is one of those writings. It is neither a question nor a promise – it is a harsh declaration.

The poet knows. He repeatedly says – I know. Within that knowing lies fear, despair, and a sense of exhaustion.

In this poem, the “rotten” is not an individual. It is a system. A mindset – where power outweighs humanity, and control is easier than responsibility. State, society, democracy, art, religion, culture – everything, one by one, is said to fall into the hands of this corrupt system. And within this loss, quietly but unmistakably, the presence of women is felt.

History teaches us – when society collapses, when moral balance breaks, it is women’s lives, bodies, and freedoms that are first constrained.

The most uncomfortable part of the poem is not the language, but the truth it exposes, one we often prefer not to face. Reading it today, it does not feel like a distant future. It reflects our present reality.