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Traditional role of the girl in Indian
society is subservient. Despite that girls have done the country proud.
The country had an able Prime Minister in Indira Gandhi. The government
has taken conscious steps to nurture and protect the girl child. But the
success entirely depends on the citizens. Will they make the womb a tomb
for their daughters? The hope for the country lies in giving equals
opportunities to boys and girls.
Even after Independence, most families have craved for boys to continue
the lineage, bring home the fodder and sustain livelihood for the
family. Caste systems never allowed women to bend gender roles. The
trouble lies with the interpretation of the ancient texts.
In 200 BC, Manu wrote, ‘In childhood a female must be subject to her
father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a
woman must never be independent’. Since then women have struggled to
maintain their lives leave alone have an identity for themselves. In
rural areas where poverty is abject, women can barely nourish
themselves, even though they comprise of 84% of the working population.
Educating a girl child in India : With government initiatives and
NGOs the word is spreading- the need to educate both girls and boys. In
rural areas, nearly 65 % of women favour literacy to remove the gender
bias. But avoid sending their girls to schools as they are vulnerable to
male teachers! In urban areas, girls are deliberately not given proper
education. They study just enough to get a decent dowry and become part
of the workforce.
In many south Indian states, the girls are studying and getting an
opportunity to live. In the north, boys are still coveted. Unless a male
foetus is abnormal it is not aborted. A normal female foetus is
suffocated and life snuffed out.
With the current economic status in the country undergoing changes,
there needs to be a sustained awareness of bringing up the girl child
with more care and love. In states of Rajasthan and Gujarat child
marriages are common. Barely ten year old girls are wedded and they
become pregnant by the age of 16 years. Having become a mother in the
age of innocence, it self is against natural live process for a young
girl.
Doctors and the Government need to give importance to the girl child.
Time and again girls have proved to be supportive
of old parents and have nurtured their children into better adults.
This has happened in places where girls and boys are raised together
without any gender bias.
Various programs stressing the importance of a healthy child are of
paramount importance. Only this way will the country not be bracketed
with China, Bangladesh and Pakistan where the incidences of empowering
the girl child are non existent. India needs to protect the girls like
goddess because when they grow up they do bring Lakshmi (wealth),
Saraswati (knowledge), Parvati (power). Being biologically stronger then
men they are the future of the country.
copyright
data 2007. Indianchild.com
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