National Girl Child Day!
Has anybody thought why is there a need to dedicate a separate day in our country to celebrate a ‘Girl’ child, especially when an International Girl Child Day already exists?
Well! The answer is simple and not at all complex. The answer is our everyday reality with which we are so customed to, that we have grown up to believe that ‘it’s Normal!’
We live in a country which sees girls as the embodiments of Goddesses of wealth, knowledge and destruction. ironically, the same society sees the same girls as a burden, responsibility and liability. We breathe in this everyday hypocrisy, every second of our lives, yet not many of us take notice.
Design credits: Ruchi (Team Womenite)
Gender Inequality is an outcome of a patriarchal mindset. This mindset, which gives rise to gender stereotypes, has since generations, made girls the victims of gender inequalities where they are denied basic access to Education, Nutrition and Medical care. Sometimes, even their birth becomes a source of abomination. In many places, girls become the victims of ‘Honor killing’, because apparently, the birth of a girl brings dishonour to the family.
Many Parents, right after the birth of their daughter, begin to save money for her wedding as if to be given in the bonds of matrimony is the sole objective of her life. Dialogues like _”sasural wale kya kahenge”_ or _”ladki to paraya dhan hoti hai”_ aren’t too uncommon either. Such association of girls with liability has been gulped down by the people of our country to the extent that it has been internalised by girls themselves, which makes them unwilling to step out from the cocoon of home.
Not only a rural problem, not only an urban problem but Inequality is also a National problem.The social discrimination faced by Girls in our country is so massive, that there became a need to create a separate day dedicated to empowering a Girl Child to make people aware about the importance of Girl education, health and nutrition and to stress upon the need to enable girls to reach their maximum potential. Hence, National Girl Child Day was created and initiated on 24th January 2008 by Ministry of Women and Child Development.
However, sadly, Gender Inequality is a part of our everyday reality now and no matter how hard we try to push _’Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’_, nothing positive will actually happen until and unless we begin to take heed and stop little instances of Gender Inequalities and Gender Stereotypes from our everyday lives.
The first step begins from Home!
Equality begins at Home!
Writing credits: Vasudha
