In almost all communities, boy child is the first preferance. Girl child gets second, last or no preference at all.
In contries, where dowry practice has downgraded the female gender, parents do not want to welcome girl child as burden. No wonder, aborting the female foetus in all communities, rich or poor, has become standard practice. Even when a legal frame work to protect girl child is there, superstition, economic ambition, gender discrimination, adulterated social norms, etc.are seen even in educated and elite groups.
The thought of prividing dowry propels people to anxiety and carrupt ways of amassing wealth. That is where honesty takes a back seat even in many families of politicians, law makers, bureaucrats, professors, doctors, or professionals to cope with social pressure and dowry demands.
Law is one thing. But it often gets sidelined or is made to derail because girl child is seen as unwelcome entity.
The norm of small families or nuclear families also compels people to go for abortion.
Let today’s celebration of the Girl Child be not a one day window dressing affair. Rather, let all of us promote the welfare of girl children in families, schools, communities and in the nation itself.
“Women and girls can lead us to a fairer future…let us amplify girls’ voices, and recommit to working together to build a world where every girl can lead and thrive.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
