Discrimination of Girls Essay

Discrimination against female children has been a topic of debate. It has been a subject of concern and sociological significance. This subject raises the cultural aspects about the role of a female child in society, what her human rights are as a human being and a number of sensitive issues.This issue is important because there is nearly universal consensus on the need for gender equality.[1] Gender based discrimination against female children is pervasive across the world. It is seen in all the strata of society and manifests in various forms.[2] As per the literature, female child has been treated inferior to male child and this is deeply engraved in the mind of the female child. Some argue that due to this inferior treatment the females fail to understand their rights. This is more predominant in India as well as other lesser developed countries. Sex selection of the before birth and neglect of the female child after birth, in childhood and, during the [teenage] years has outnumbered males to females in India and also in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Korea.[2] There are 1029 women per 1000 men in North America [3] and 1076 women per 100 men in Europe[4] but there are only 927 women per 1000 men in India.[5] These numbers tell us quite a harsh story about neglect and mistreatment of the female child in India. Women have a biological advantage over men for longetivity and survival, however, in spite of this there are more men than women.[1][2][6] The figures above support that gender discrimination of female child is a basic facility area. Though the demographic characteristics do not show much or in some cases , anti-female bias, there is always a woman who receives a small piece of the pie. There are two main inequalities as pointed out by Amartya Sen, the educational inequality and health inequality, these are the indicators of a woman’s status of welfare. In India irrespective of the caste, creed, religion and social status, the overall status of a women is lower than men and therefore a male child is preferred over a female child. A male child is considered a blessing and his birth is celebrated as opposed to a female child where her birth is not celebrated and is considered more of a burden.[1] Therefore, [education] and health care of the female child in India is an important social indicator to measure equality between men and women. According to the 2001 Indian census, overall male-female ratio was 927 females per 1000 males. However, the 2011 Indian census shows that there are 914 females per 1000 males. During the last [decade] the number female children to male children in the youngest age group fell from 945 per 1000 males to 927 per 1000 males.[7] As per the data available there seems to be gender disparity depending on the location, as the Northern states(particularly Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh) seem to be more biased then the Southern states. The sharpest decline for the age group of zero to six years is observed in the Northern States particularly in Punjab (793 per 1000 females) and Haryana (820 per 1000 females).[8] These new figures point out that the use of new technology contributes to the gender composition. Furthermore, the availability of and access to new technologies provides new ways for parent to achieve such goals of sex determination before birth.[2] Due to the widespread use of this technology the Indian Government banned the sex determination before birth.[2] In spite of these bans imposed by the Government, the law is not widely followed. A social development report presented in 2010 to the World Bank and UNDP, found that the time a female child and a male child spends on various activities is similar, with the exception of domestic work and social/resting time; a female child spends nearly three forth of an hour more on domestic work than a male child and therefore lesser hours of social activity/resting then boys.[9] Despite progress in advancing gender equity from a legal standpoint, in practice many women and female children still lack opportunities, and support for the socio-economic advancement.[10][11] Historically, the inclusion of young girls and women in education has helped challenge gender [stereotypes] and discrimination.[12] This suggests that providing space for young girls to develop leadership skills, through education and healthy living is important. This can shape attitudes towards women [capabilities] as leaders and decision makers especially in conventionally male domains and male dominated cultures. Because of the sex preference of male children in India, female children are deemed of resources in the areas of health and education. [edit] Health In Western countries women are born with the advantage not just in [political] and [economic] opportunities but also in their ability to access health care. In the Western nations women typically live about six years longer than men.[7] But this is not true in India. There is plenty of evidence that shows that the girls are been given lesser food and health care than boys, especially in Northern India. Girls are breast fed for shorter periods, given less medical attention, fewer consultations and visit to a doctor, and in case of an emergency and or a major health concern are taken very late or not at all to the hospital.[13] Because of some culturally assigned duties, many girls miss out on the chance to improve their overall health. Miller called this as an extended â€Å"infanticide† where life sustaining inputs like food, nutrition and health care was denied to the female child. Also, female children in general are given lesser food both in quality and quantity and therefo re are [undernourished] compared to male children. This in turn leads to health issues like anemia and intrauterine growth restriction during pregnancy.[1] If in this malnourished state the woman gives birth to a female child then the possibility of the female child having survival issues, and salon nutritional issues becomes higher. The female child’s status is the product of general societal attitude towards women at large in India. Girls in India face higher risks of malnutrition, [disease], [disability] and retardation of growth and development. They have no access to or control over the resources. Their work towards raising a family and in the household chores is undervalued. Some argue that due to the culture that has been in the society for so long that a girl child and her value to the family has been undervalued for long. A popular Telugu saying from Andra Pradesh is, â€Å"Bringing up a daughter is like watering a plant in anothers’ courtyard†. Due to this understanding she is considered as a liability and outside commodity. She is deprived of good food and nutrition. According to a global study conducted by Thomas Reuter, India is the fourth most dangerous country for a girl child in the world.[14] [edit] Education It has often been argued that women’s education is the key to reducing discrimination against daughters. However, female literacy rate has risen from 15% to 54%, even as the [juvenile][sex] ratio has fallen. Furthermore, some studies have shown that educated mothers are far more â€Å"efficient† in discriminating against their daughters than uneducated mothers.[15] Other studies have shown that higher levels of maternal education decreases mortality for both boys and girls, the effect is larger for girls, thus providing evidence that higher levels of maternal education decrease gender differentials in child mortality.[16] On the other hand, there is also evidence that maternal education at the district and [household] levels is weakly associated with increases in female survival.[17] At a macro level, in general high female literacy states—Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa—each with relatively high female education levels have shown less discrimina tion towards girls but in the past 20 years, high female literacy has not stopped Delhi and Tamil Nadu from showing increased discrimination against female child.[18] The female child in India is often deprived from her right of an education. The basic facility of education is deprived to her. Also, even if she is in school, the number of girls dropping out of school far exceeds the boys. Definitely, this is because she is expected to help at home, either in household work like washing, cooking or help in taking care of her younger siblings. Since girls spend more time completing domestic/household chores and this increases the gap between female and male equality in rural parts of India, it perpetuates the myth that education is of no help to the girl and her primary job will be to look after the household work, get married early, have children and then raise them.[2] If this is the job she has to do, then education is of no importance to her and it is not imparted. Also, even with education and financial independence, women might not get the same rights and liberties which a man may have. It is through education in the early days of a child that we can bring about behavior changes and open doors to opportunities that will enhance their confidence, personality and career. Often in these communities, women, in particular, are considered an inferior sex and are raised to accept this belief.[1] Nearly 80% of the girls drop out from standards I to V. Out of the 100 girls that enroll in class 1 only 42 reach class V. Among [Schedule Castes] and [Schedule Tribes], many of those who live below poverty line of the 100 girls only 19 reach class V. Many of these girls work in the unorganized sectors such as the beedi industry .Two characteristics of beedi workers stand out: one, their being largely home based, and the other the predominance of women and girl children. The beedi sector represents the gender division of labor because most of the women along with girls sitting at home do the [beedi] making and boys are not involved in it.[19]