The 11th of October is recognised as the International Day of the Girl child. It appreciates the growth and development of girls around the world. It is eminent in the fight of gender disparity. It stands to promote gender equity and educate the uninformed on this crucial matter. It calls upon those who choose to be on the wrong side of this battle to mend their ways. This day also displays the comparison and contrast between how the world has changed for girls and women over the many centuries.
A girl, if born was set to live the life of a caretaker of the family and children. It was shameful if she was ambitious about anything except her family. Many girls were only taught to worship the men in their lives, be the male child wending machines and the perfect home makers. If they gave birth to a girl child, that child was killed in the womb without considering that it was a huge risk for the mother as well. If they stood up to the men around them they were immediately shunned. If they pursued a passion for anything but family the were looked down at by the entire society. They weren't even given the freedom to choose when they wanted to start a family. Most of the time the parents didn't even wait for a girl to come of age for marriage. A 12-year-old girl was married to a 16-year-old boy. And the 'strengths of the society'- boys were treated and pampered like the nizams and were taught since birth that girls were capable of nothing except household chores. Boys were allowed to do whatever they liked and wanted whereas girls were scolded if they did the same. Girls were not allowed an education either. Even If they were, they only studied till class 5 or the most basic, to read and write and then they were forced to learn household chores. Girls were not allowed to play outdoor games while boys were encouraged to do so as girls were told that if they get tanned or they break a bone then no one will marry them so they were now looked upon as china dolls.
As a girl, I feel pity for them. They were treated so badly and were not even treated like human beings. When they revolted, they were scolded, beaten, and shunned. People forced girls not to work, study, play or even think about themselves. If someone treats a person like that then they are basically taking away that person's human rights. Why treat one gender over another? can’t both be treated the same? People thought that they could rule over girls. This day brought great changes to India as there were many laws and bans to protect the girl child. For example, one reason for a girl child to get killed is dowry. Parents of a girl child have to pay dowry to get them married so, to avoid spending so much money, they kill the baby.
From the time this day has been observed, girls are treated well and they have their rights such as voting, education, etc. Some of the women who broke the rules and gained success by doing a lot of hard work are Kalpana Chawla, Geeta Phogat, Rani Lakshmibai, Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai, Mary Kom. These women broke all kinds of stereotypes and have become successful people now.
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