Forgettable Figments...

Article: Gender Discrimination

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(C)Sumaya Nur Zaman 2015

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GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Every child is special for the parents and must be rightly so, Parents strive to provide everything they can for their children within their limited means,
but when we think about it in a broader scale, are all parents as giving, as caring, as accepting as others? The answer unfortunately is a big No-no!
Not all parents can love their children equally, even though each child is an important part of the family, their significance is determined by their gender.
More or less in almost every household, of the developing countries, the male members, the sons are more prioritized as they are a symbol of insurance and assuarance to the parents.
It is the male child who will carry forward the family legacy, It is he who shall join and inherit the business and the wealth.
It is he who shall earn and win the bread for the family, he is to take importantant decisions and enact upon them hence it would be more advisable for most parents to educate and groom him as best as they can, money spent on him will be returned by his earnings, the daughter however need not be educated so much nor is there any need to send her out in the world, after all what is the gain? even if she does prove something, becomes successful, she has to go to her husband's house and settle down there, why invest in her? afterall, as they say, What is the benefit of watering the neighbors lawn?
While those parents are atleast humane,who raise their daughters to be married off, even if the girls are not Harvard return professionals, they have been fed and taken care of and hopefully educated enough to survive, but the demons in the societies dont even flinch as they mercilessly end a life even before it can live, yes, they kill, an innocent baby girl who could've done for her parents, what ten sons couldn't have.
The case of "Sex selective abortion" or more crudely known as "female feticide and infanticide" exists largely in regional, backward and mostly impoverished parts of Bangladesh, India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and many other countries in the world.
While some may afford the ultrasound and medical abortion, the poorest are left to wait for the childbirth, if it's a girl strangle it, or bury it alive no need to deal with the burden, and how to manage the dowry when they can barely eat, and while they're at it they torture the baby's mother too...
For, a lot of complications arise when a female child is born, mostly for poorer rural people, firstly. she is an extra mouth to feed and though she may slave after the household chores, break her bones carrying water and driftwood for miles together a daughter cannot earn! secondly if some boy takes a liking to her and they elope or anything untoward happens not only will the family be publicly disgraced but also lose any scope of getting her married in a respectable family. and most importantly the devil itself, Dowry! even if she does get married, the boy shall want to be paid for accepting the father's share of misery and burden; with tons of difficulty and debts even if the chapter of the dowry is closed there is all the chance that she would be tortured, neglected, slaved, sent back to her father's house and worst be killed in the name of honor, and when she would expect her child, she too would be forced to bear a son like her mother before her.
This age old cycle would continue to circulate unless a step is taken, a voice raised, a question asked why is is happening and what is the solution?
Firstly it is important that we know and accept the fact that the gender of the child is determined by the father. It is his chromosomes, x and y, that make the child a boy or a girl not the mother's. It is also important to educate the children, for those who can afford it, it is not that big a hassle, but for those who cannot, the government has to take an iniative, the NGOs have to come forward to provide education wih the minimum expense. While we see free education nowadays in a fair share still it is not enough, It is more neccessary for the girls to be better educated than the boys, because when grown up, the men will use their education to earn but the women will educate their next generation as it is the mothers who inculminate the minds of their children and instill values in them.
Napoleon Bonaparte had once said, "Give me an educated mother and I shall give you an educated nation"
though said hundreds of years ago, his words now ring true in these testing times when mothers are not given a chance to be educated, neither are their daughters.
Again the girls should be married off at the right age when they are ready to take responsibility, in rural areas girls are married off even before they are pubescent, mere children to run families and abide by husband's orders. Child marriages are to be strictly stopped, and the child should be given a chance to grow, to live her childhood, to retain her innocence. And so should be eradicated the torturous and greedy act of demanding dowry, squeezing the girl's parents for more money, and also the heinous crimes such as infanticides, female feticides, honor killings and sex determination through USG. Though laws have been made in the recent years, they are not followed, severe penalties and exemplary punishments should be given to serve justice and induce fear in the offenders' mind and those who might offend later, Though it is not entirely practical but sticks talk better than words, also counselling should be provided for the traumatized, victimized girls, to encourage and help them to move forward, away from this monstrosity to aim at a new beginning. We should all contribute a little to make the world a livable place for half of its population.

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I had contributed this for an online magazine, and this was quite liked.
Thanks.
Sumaya.

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