Rifat Zafreen :
Worldwide especially in the third world countries and particularly country like Bangladesh girlhood is truly a painful, stressful and perilous path. From childhood to adulthood our girls are to cross a long thorny way, full of obstacles, hindrance, torture, struggle both from family and society. They are to come out crossing and ignoring others’ red eyes, even sometimes they are to get through even their own limits.
Girlhood thus becomes a history in a different way for each of the girls as a whole.
In the context of Bangladesh, if we count the sex ratio, we find, for every 100 males there are only 94 females. There are more deaths among girls than boys due to preferential treatment for males. Some 72 girls and women die every day of pregnancy related causes and during childbirth. Girls between 16-19 years consume 28 per cent fewer calories than boys. Although almost equal number of boys and girls enroll in school, more girls drop out, as educating girls beyond the primary level is not considered necessary, or it is due to early marriage and domestic responsibilities. The work burden of girls and women is not even adequately recognized. And even they are subjected to violence both in and outside the home. From infancy to early childhood girls receive less nutrition and healthcare resulting in higher than expected rates of illness and death for girls.
In the middle childhood of the girls they are full of burden and responsibilities. Early assumption of domestic responsibilities, sibling care, and even hazardous work are to be performed by girls at this stage. Sometimes due to this they are to discontinue their education. Because of gender discriminatory treatment in the family, they become the victim of malnutrition and suffer from low self- esteem. Among girls high rates of morbidity is seen mostly among girls and it is all because of their hard work and malnutrition that they earn due to gender discrimination both in the family and society.
In their adolescence, withdrawal from school, low or no education is a regular phenomenon. They remain under restrictions on their behavior and mobility for the sake of their safety and social taboo.
Adolescence period is another very difficult, hazardous and insecure path for girls. They face a huge change both physically and mentally during this phase and along with this, they face in co-operation and difficulties from family, surroundings and from the society, which truly puts them in a fix to cope up with
Their new stage of life. It is a new experience that the adolescence period let the children feel and face. Moreover girls remain very vulnerable and insecure during this phase where they need all the members of their family and the society beside them. But other than getting all beside them, girls face crude realities like withdrawal from school, low or no education, restriction on behaviour and mobility, dependence, low status and low self esteem and bindings. They are forced to go for early marriage, which results, into teenage pregnancy, anaemia, stunted growth of the fetus, delivery of low birth weight babies, perinatal complications and finally maternal morbidity and mortality.
While we talk about progress and development, our girls are still far behind, they are much back lag. Still there are different implications for boys and girls while examine children’s issues. Still there are issues of gender discrimination in different situations- in the home, schools and in the workplace – no difference at all. Still there is to put special emphasis on the importance of schooling especially in the case of girls.
Being born as girl is not an offence and it should not even be counted like this. It is their right to have a smooth path, not a perilous and hazardous one from their childhood to adulthood. It is our responsibility to provide all comfort, safety, security and all other rights and privileges, as we are their family, their society, their nation and above all their state. They have every right to have and enjoy all the facilities, comfort and security since we cannot deny, it is their right, not any privilege that we are allowing or providing to our girls. n
Worldwide especially in the third world countries and particularly country like Bangladesh girlhood is truly a painful, stressful and perilous path. From childhood to adulthood our girls are to cross a long thorny way, full of obstacles, hindrance, torture, struggle both from family and society. They are to come out crossing and ignoring others’ red eyes, even sometimes they are to get through even their own limits.
Girlhood thus becomes a history in a different way for each of the girls as a whole.
In the context of Bangladesh, if we count the sex ratio, we find, for every 100 males there are only 94 females. There are more deaths among girls than boys due to preferential treatment for males. Some 72 girls and women die every day of pregnancy related causes and during childbirth. Girls between 16-19 years consume 28 per cent fewer calories than boys. Although almost equal number of boys and girls enroll in school, more girls drop out, as educating girls beyond the primary level is not considered necessary, or it is due to early marriage and domestic responsibilities. The work burden of girls and women is not even adequately recognized. And even they are subjected to violence both in and outside the home. From infancy to early childhood girls receive less nutrition and healthcare resulting in higher than expected rates of illness and death for girls.
In the middle childhood of the girls they are full of burden and responsibilities. Early assumption of domestic responsibilities, sibling care, and even hazardous work are to be performed by girls at this stage. Sometimes due to this they are to discontinue their education. Because of gender discriminatory treatment in the family, they become the victim of malnutrition and suffer from low self- esteem. Among girls high rates of morbidity is seen mostly among girls and it is all because of their hard work and malnutrition that they earn due to gender discrimination both in the family and society.
In their adolescence, withdrawal from school, low or no education is a regular phenomenon. They remain under restrictions on their behavior and mobility for the sake of their safety and social taboo.
Adolescence period is another very difficult, hazardous and insecure path for girls. They face a huge change both physically and mentally during this phase and along with this, they face in co-operation and difficulties from family, surroundings and from the society, which truly puts them in a fix to cope up with
Their new stage of life. It is a new experience that the adolescence period let the children feel and face. Moreover girls remain very vulnerable and insecure during this phase where they need all the members of their family and the society beside them. But other than getting all beside them, girls face crude realities like withdrawal from school, low or no education, restriction on behaviour and mobility, dependence, low status and low self esteem and bindings. They are forced to go for early marriage, which results, into teenage pregnancy, anaemia, stunted growth of the fetus, delivery of low birth weight babies, perinatal complications and finally maternal morbidity and mortality.
While we talk about progress and development, our girls are still far behind, they are much back lag. Still there are different implications for boys and girls while examine children’s issues. Still there are issues of gender discrimination in different situations- in the home, schools and in the workplace – no difference at all. Still there is to put special emphasis on the importance of schooling especially in the case of girls.
Being born as girl is not an offence and it should not even be counted like this. It is their right to have a smooth path, not a perilous and hazardous one from their childhood to adulthood. It is our responsibility to provide all comfort, safety, security and all other rights and privileges, as we are their family, their society, their nation and above all their state. They have every right to have and enjoy all the facilities, comfort and security since we cannot deny, it is their right, not any privilege that we are allowing or providing to our girls. n
