Hail girl power

Going by singer Shaggy’s words ‘Just picture if you could what life would be. Ain’t much good without a woman’ — from his popular track ‘Strength Of A Woman’ — let’s picture a world without women!

Wouldn’t it be such an incomplete drawing? In order to raise awareness among people in the country on the inequalities and discrimination faced by a girl child in every walk of life, the Government of India will celebrate January 24 as ‘National Girl Child Day’.

From female foeticide and infanticide to neglecting her education, a girl falls prey to many gender biases, some even before she is born. On the eve of ‘National Girl Child Day’, Lincy Iype, a mother of two beautiful daughters, Eva and Zara, says, “Neglecting a girl child is common among many families.

They struggle to understand the importance of a girl. However, there are some who make it a point to treat both genders equally. With better education, people understand the value of a woman and they’ll create no difference between the two genders. I’m proud to be the mother of two daughters . I thoroughly enjoy my motherhood. My daughters are precious, sensitive and emotionally attached to me. I believe, daughters are more responsive in both personal and in the professional front.”

 Talking about the various opportunities for girls today, she opines, “According to me, there is a lot of change that can be seen but there are still many girls who struggle to get education and health benefits. Due to a lack of education in their parents, these children have to suffer taboos and other forms of social discrimination. Not that there haven’t been any changes, considering that India is a huge country; we just don’t realise the changes that take place. Change is slow but it is occurring and we have come a long way. Especially in terms of families agreeing to their daughters working and studying outside their localities.”

In a country where a boy child is always given the upper hand, a woman loses out on a lot of personal rights and faces exploitation and prejudices. Sudarshan Purohit, who has a daughter and a son, says, “The present scenario of a girl child is not very healthy in certain areas. The mind set of people is such that they consider girl children a curse in their family. Lack of education in rural areas have led to this kind of mentality. Adding on to that, societal structures in rural areas are well-knit and people interact more frequently among themselves — this way, a lot of minds are influenced by someone else’s ideologies.”

He adds, “The opportunities are huge for women today and many girls have in fact excelled in a lot of areas. Time and again girls have proved that they can do better than boys. Even then, if they are discriminated against on unreasonable grounds, it is really not healthy.”

From advertisements and movies objectifying women, to the heinous crimes perpetuated against them, one has come across many such situations but at times, chosen to ignore them because such acts are so commonplace or simply because one thinks it is none of our business.

    Snigdha, a mother of a daughter, exclaims, “Acceptance of a girl child is still a question in our country. I come across people who still ask me when am I having a boy! This question makes me think people still live in a cocoon. What they don’t understand is that women have a higher emotional quotient and are more sensitive than boys.”

Comparing the past with the present, she adds, “When it comes to the safety of women, the situation has worsened. When I was a kid, I used to go out and play or come back from school alone, but now I don’t dare to leave my daughter alone or send her out to play. All I want to tell people is that don’t look down on a girl. At least in today’s world, they are certainly in par with boys.”