Girl Child in India
Akinyemi Rodiat Mercy
University Of Lagos
This Blog is written by Akinyemi Rodiat Mercy, a Third-Year Law Student of University Of Lagos
Introduction
In a world where success is often defined by achievements, advancements, and innovations, the contributions of women are frequently overlooked, especially in patriarchal societies like India. Women have been traditionally seen as caregivers, nurturers, and mothers; their roles confined within the walls of their homes. However, this perspective not only limits their potential but also hinders the growth of nations. Joyce Banda once remarked, "The seeds of success in every nation on Earth are best planted in women and children." This statement reflects a powerful truth—behind every thriving society, women stand as the backbone, nurturing both the present and future. Despite this reality, Indian women continue to face systemic discrimination, enduring the pains of gender-based inequality in education, employment, and personal rights. The time has come to recognize that empowering women is not just an act of justice but a catalyst for national progress.
A woman and a man come together to reproduce a child, which could either be a girl, a boy, or both genders in the form of a twin. It is imperative to know that all of these would be impossible if the baby cannot get a comfortable zone to stay throughout the pregnancy state before the baby can independently grow while she’s out of the mother’s womb. After the birth of the baby, the mother feeds her, backs her, and has sleepless nights, all to ensure the baby grows to become a better person.
Now, Is that the only thing women are known for?
Joyce Banda Says that the seeds of success in every nation on Earth are best planted in women and children. With no need for any form of hullabaloo, the quote implies that for every successful nation, there is a girl, there’s a woman, and there are women behind every hard work and dedication a nation needs to be successful.
The word ‘girl ‘ derives from the Latin word,femella, meaning “young woman, girl,” which in turn is based on femina, meaning “woman.”
India over the years has been a patriarchal nation where men dominate strongly in the society. This has always been the norm and with the coming of age in India, most men grow up being told that they are stronger, more capable, and more powerful than women who are stereotyped as minority genders. These customs and cultures have led to society creating hardships, forceful submission, lack of education, a decrease in population, and more to the female children in India.
As of 2022, there was a massive depopulation of female children which emerged as a result of female infanticide.
Female Infanticide simply means the deliberate killing is female children. This has been one of the means of discrimination against female children in India, which mostly occurs for poverty reasons, interest to increase the population of male children to increase patriarchy, lack of basic facilities, child marriage, etc.
In the world of today, education has become one of the major keys to success, education is believed to be a shield against poverty. In India, female children are not raised to be literate or to become great people of their own, female children are raised to be the mother of the next generation with or without their consent. The illiterate rate among the female gender is exceedingly high, which as well as added to the poverty rate in India in one way or another, hence the illiteracy issue only affects the females and not the male gender, the reason is that male children are believed to be a way to country’s success, authoritarian, and strong enough to go against exploitation.
The level of poverty in India has been a stagnant issue from 1981 till the present, it has more than 287 million illiterates with females as the highest number in the world. Currently, more than 80% of men are educated in India while 60% of women can hardly put their hands to their chest or stand to be educated women, which simply shows that there are over 20% of men who are more educated than women in India.
This discrimination doesn’t stop with education, it also reflects on the low level of employment in India. In the global world of today where people strive to become successful, most eventually successful people are educated people. No company employs any illiterate to work or render any services to them. This explains how important education is when it comes to employment. The rate of employment reduced drastically from 7.9% in the year 2016 to 3.9% in the year 2023. This issue remains unsolved even in the present.
In essence, the female children in India remain uneducated and this makes the rate of unemployment higher among women in the country.
This issue of employment most times makes it difficult to meet dowry payments among women to their groom’s family. In India the brides are the ones who pay dowry to the groomsmen, most times the groom's family uses this as a means to transfer wealth from the bride's family to the groom’s family.
Now, the brides not only pay this dowry to the groom's family in excess, but they also pay because the marriage has been arranged by the families not necessarily because their affections are attached.
It’s safe to say that female children are not only discriminated against physically but also emotionally.
These issues make the women vulnerable and lead them to a land of no hope, it makes them feel less and highly subjected to the authority of the men.
India has always been a country that emulates patriarchy, and this gives men authority over women, it makes women submissive, subordinate, and conform instinctively to the men's decisions, even with the emergence of feminism, patriarchy remains unshakable.
Female children in India are not only emotionally abused through the dominance of men but also through early marriage and early childbirth. This results lot of teenage mothers not being emotionally mature, physically mature, or psychologically mature enough to train another creation like them. As a result of this mental stress, most teenage mothers develop low self-esteem, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Several laws have been developed to eradicate discrimination against women in India, we have The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the NREGA,2005, the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, etc.
These laws were made to create another chance for women, these laws were created to give a voice to women but still, discrimination persists in some rural parts of the country.
Without any form of confusion, it is imperative to understand that no nation can improve or ever achieve resourceful expectations without the support of women. Based on the points made above, it was clearly stated that, the discrimination issues that exist in India open grounds for poverty and reduction in economic productivity, which simply implies women are the secret behind every success in life.
Women are righteous creatures who decently deserve the best treatment ever to ensure proper care of their children at the best time with their consent and not with any form of abuse. Women are not only for mothering’s sake but also for career purposes, women are entitled to education, women are great, women can lead the country, women stand are voices against destruction, and women build leaders and make good followers.
The idea of discrimination will diminish if men still see reasons why they need to be above the female gender, even in the existence of feminism. Hence, the voice of our women will not be hidden nor denied but must be heard, as we strive for our space, our rights, our equality, our career, our freedom, and more. Truthfully, behind every successful nation, some women strive for it.
Conclusion
The path to true national success cannot be traveled without women walking alongside men, not as subordinates but as equal partners. For too long, patriarchal systems in India and other parts of the world have stifled the potential of women, trapping them in cycles of poverty, illiteracy, and emotional abuse. Yet, history has proven time and again that when women are empowered—when they are educated, valued, and given equal opportunities—nations flourish. To continue denying women their rightful place in society is to hinder our collective progress. Discrimination, whether subtle or overt, must be eradicated, and women's voices must be heard. It is only when we uplift the women in our societies that we can truly pave the way for a brighter, more prosperous future for all. Say no to female discrimination, and yes to a world where every woman can stand tall and contribute to the success of her nation.
Say no to female discrimination.
References
1. Effect of high dirty payment in India : https://www.google.com/search?q=the+high+effect+of+paying+expensive+amount+as+dowry+by+women+in+india&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
2. The rate of uneducated women in India
3. Female infanticide
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_infanticide
4. The rate of unemployment in India among women
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/India/Female_unemployment/
5. Law against female discrimination in India