Dr. T. Rama Prasad's Scribblings...: GIRL CHILD : GOLDEN CHILD ; WOMEN POWER

GIRL CHILD & WOMEN POWER

Dr. T. Rama Prasad, www.rama-scribbles.in

"EMPOWER GIRLS: before, during and after conflict."

A bus in Coimbatore city with an unusual and very meaningful message. I took this photo while going in a car behind this bus. -- T. Rama Prasad

There are many "Daughters Days" that fall around the same time, with World Daughters' Day on September 28, and some other countries choosing to celebrate National Daughters Day on October 1, September 25, International Daughters Day on the 4th Sunday of September, and so on.

"On National Daughter Day we remember to show unconditional love to the guardian of our family trust, our beautiful, witty, creative, and sometimes, demanding daughters. For aging parents, especially, a daughter maintains a level of connectivity and commitment that keeps families together and healthy. Of course, that’s not to say that sons don’t do their part. But today, we’re talking exclusively about daughters ! " And, after a few months, on March 8 we shall talk about "International Women's Day" -- a short comment on this Day is at the end of this 'scribbling'.

CHANGING SCENARIO -- women power

Interestingly and encouragingly, the scenario of feminine submissiveness is fast changing. They are more assertive and getting empowered well. Enlightened public support is forthcoming. A recent example is the '#MeToo' movement. Heads are rolling down. The celebrity of western filmdom, Harvey Weinstein was 'demolished'. The Indian central minister, MJ Akbar was in such news. Girls and women are becoming more assertive and bold. They are fighting for rights and justice ... read under the title "SEXUAL HARASSMENT" on this blog / website.

A study done exclusively for THE TIMES OF INDIA indicated that women are in about 15% of the jobs which were traditionally held by men ... read the following newspaper report.

A study by 'Xpheno', a specialist staffing firm, found that women Human Resource (HR) officers replaced men as HR heads in 60% of the companies (2018). Globally, HR positions are dominated by women, and over the last few years, India has witnessed a similar trend. One of the reasons put forth for this shift is that the essence of HR lies in the ability to make clear decisions about intangibles -- such as personality and potential -- that are conventionally strong female characteristics.

"A number of powerful women have shaped the course of history with their intelligence, strength, passion, and leadership qualities. They have challenged the status quo, made lasting reforms, and many have presided over their countries for decades, ushering in prosperity and cultural revolutions."

Look into the link below to know about the 15 of the most powerful in history -- Elizabeth I, Empress Wu Zetian, Catherine the Great, Hatshepsut, Maria Theresa of Austria, Empress DowangerCixi, Queen Victoria, Theodora, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Borte Ujin, Joan of Arc, Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, Cleopatra, Zenobia.

https://bigthink.com/the-present/top-15-most-powerful-women-in-history/

Look into the link below to know about the 8 famous female leaders in the ancient Indian history -- Razia Sultan, Savitribai Phule, Sita, Savithri, Draupadi, Maharani Durgavati, Jhansi Ki Rani, Ahilya Bai Holkar.

https://www.naaree.com/five-great-women-history-ancient-india/

Look into the link below to know about some contemporary influential Indian women leaders:

https://www.educationworld.in/international-womens-day-2022-influential-indian-women-leaders/

PARANOIA in the PANDEMIC in 2020

People are suspicious of everybody being a potential carrier of the virus. They can't do away with maids and they don't want to risk their coming in. They behave with them as though they are devils bringing in the virus. Be humane -- treat them with kindness, dignity and respect. After all, they have been cleaning our houses, cooking our food, washing our clothes, bringing up our children, etc. Read about the paranoia in the clipping below.

An estimated 67 million people are employed in domestic work around the world. Most of them are women. This is a vast but hidden force asserting their rights on the 'International Domestic Workers Day' on June 16.
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Girl child is the dearest 'commodity' !

Don't senselessly crave for a male child and don't 'kill' unborn girls.

Loving they are

Care for you more

Daughters they are.

Pregnant you are

Promote your gender

Pray for a girl babe.

-- T. Rama Prasad

October 11 is celebrated as the 'International Day of the Girl Child' since 2012. According to the United Nations, the event is to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, and to promote their empowerment, and to ensure their human rights. The scenario in India is grossly different from most of the zones across the world. Even as babies are created by infertility centres here, abortions are done with impunity, mostly of females. Ironically and seemingly, both 'events' are facilitated by doctors !. Paradoxical The sex selection practices put the girl child at an existential disadvantage. It is a blot on India that 4.6 lakh girl children went "missing" annually due to sex selection, according to the UNFPA's State of World Population Report 2020. This is despite schemes like 'Beti Bachavo, Beti Padhao'.

Ultrasound Scans

Ultrasound scans come in handy to detect the sex of the unborn child and terminate the 'unwanted' female, despite the legislation against it (PCPNDT Act). Female foeticide, female infanticide, illegal identification of sex of the unborn children and illegal abortions have become common in our society. Legislation doesn’t work. The malpractices very rarely come to the surface for obvious reasons, just as in the ‘dowry’ practice. One of such rare and sensational episodes came to light recently (2017). A renowned Agra gynaecologist who was the former president of the Indian Medical Association was caught after being entrapped through decoy patients by Rajasthan PCPNDT team (2017). The Court sent her to jail along with five others by rejecting bail application (docoplexus, July 15, 2017).

IMPORT BRIDES

On Apr. 30, 2013, the government of India revealed that the child sex ratio is at its lowest since Independence (in the age group of 0-6 years it came down to 919 females per 1000 males). It means that, even if all the women get married, 976 lakhs of men cannot get a wife in India at any point of time. Statistics show that there are only 767 girls to 1,000 boys in some districts of Uttarkhand. In certain parts of the country, which have been described as the “Bermuda triangle”, the ratio is a shocking 774:1,000 ! At this rate, in future, India may also have to “import” brides as is China doing from Vietnam, Laos or North Korea. Due to the ‘One Child’ policy in China there has been a manpower shortage which prompted the government to allow some eligible couples to have a second child. Paradoxically, in Beijing, only 6.7 per cent of the couples applied for permission for a second child. When a norm is set in, it is likely to persist. In India, the norm is set in to prefer male progeny. And it is likely to persist despite the gloomy forecast.

COMICAL

What takes the cake for an ingenious discovery is about the gender preference of Indians for their progeny. Some facts and figures projected by our governments seem nearly comical and flawed – look at this news (TNIE, Oct.11, 2011): “According to the latest report of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Gender Issues, 75 % of Indian women prefer to have girl babies.” Then, -- you guessed right -- why are we crying hoarse against female foeticide, female infanticide, illegal identification of sex of the unborn children and illegal abortions ? Hypocrisy of bureaucracy ! One of the victims is baby Afreen, a three-month baby girl, who died on April 10, 2012 due to battering and biting by her father who wanted a ‘boy and not a girl’. McGlobalkinsey Report says that economy will not gain by reducing the number of women.

SATYAMEV JAYATE

Following up his focus on female foeticide in the first episode of his television debut Satyamev Jayate, film star Aamir Khan (who is awarded by America Abroad Media for enlightening the public through media) met Rajasthan Chief Minister seeking speedy trial of those charged under the PCPNDT Act, following a sting operation in Rajasthan by a television channel a few years ago, collecting evidence against the doctors who did the illegal abortions (The Hindu, May 10, 2012). And, as many as 16 foetuses of the age of 2 to 3 months were found dumped on the bank of the Hiranyakeshi river on January 26, 2013 (ironically enough, it happened to be the Republic Day !) at Sankeshwar, in Belgaum district which has the worst child sex ratio in Karnataka State, with only 931 girls per 1,000 boys (The Hindu, Jan. 28, 2013). Doctors who abet these crimes should do some introspection and some soul-searching and reform themselves, as it is extremely difficult to prove their culpability.

POLITICAL HYPOCRISY

The statistics and the happenings expose the continuing discrimination against the girl child in our society. The phenomenon of “disappearing” female little ones in India is due to the despicable attitudes and patriarchal prejudices that guarantee that girls will not be born and that if they are, their health will not be taken care of adequately. In the election season where rhetoric is the king, this subject of “killing” the female is not even a blip on the horizon though eloquent and loquacious voices are heard on “empowerment” of women ! Political hypocrisy !

NO SOLUTION

Political will is crucial. A most unexpected “solution” for the problem came from the mouth of the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi at a conference in Jaipur (January, 2016). It is this: 1. Establish the sex of the foetus when pregnancy is detected. 2. Tell the mother about it and and register the fact in public records. 3. Ensure that deliveries happen only in institutions and not at home. 4. Tracking sex-determined foetuses and imposing institutional deliveries would ensure that female babies are not aborted, or killed at birth. “While this idea might seem persuasive, like many technological fixes it betrays a worrying lack of awareness of social realities” (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-on-maneka-gandhis-statement-on-foetuses/article8189286.ece ). Endless debate is going on on the effectiveness and practicability of this solution to the problem.

I quote hereunder an apt expression about daughters:

"Happy daughter's week.

Daughter is not equal to tension
But
In today's world
Daughter is equal to
Ten son' s

A FATHER Asked His DAUGHTER:
Who Would U Love More, Me Or Ur Husband..??

The BEST Reply Given By the DAUGHTER:
I Don't Know Really,
But When I See U,
I Forget Him,
But When I See Him,
I Remember U..

U Can Always Call Ur DAUGHTER As Beta,
But U Can Never Call Ur Son As Beti..

That's Why DAUGHTERS are SPECIAL

It's DAUGHTER'S WEEK..
If you have a daughter who makes your life worth living by just being around and you love her as much as your own Breath..;

If you are proud of your daughter, send this to people who have daughters..!!

Daughters are happiness.
Daughters are angels.!

Happy

Daughters

Week

Congrats to who all have daughters
Daughters are like Parrots in the house..

When she speaks,
Speaks without a break..
& everyone says,
"Will you please keep quite for sometime"

When she is silent,
mother says,
Are you fine my child "

Father says,
"Why there is so much of silence "

Brother says,
"Are you angry with me ?"

and when she is married, all says,
"Its like all the happiness has gone from the house "

She is the real non stop music..

Dedicated to emotional, cute, pretty, sweet & sincere girls

That's here ..
That's there..
That's a Daughter..

=Girls are Proud to be a Daughter

Woman has the most unique character like salt
Her presence is never remembered...but
Her absence makes all the things tasteless !!

Dear friends, pass it to your lovely sisters, daughters, wives, mothers ,fathers, brothers, sons, family and friends."

GIRL to WOMAN

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day, originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. Let everybody appreciate, encourage and empower women. In general, women are innately more focussed and responsible in doing work than men. Internationally, women made great strides – just look into my blog articles on related subjects.

Women deserve to have a heady mix of triumph and self-esteem for the right reasons. It is a reflection of empowerment and assertion. Most of the women in India are unaware of the global euphoria. Women were adored and admired in our ancient days. Despite the "liberation" we have today, the Indian women seem to require more respect and security now than ever. The feudal mind set of the people comes in the shape of harassers, cat-callers, criminals and rapists.

In the recent centuries, our womenfolk have traditionally occupied the lower perches on the social totem. The medieval social attitudes, male-dominated India, patriarchal prejudices and unconscionable customs that confer social sanction to insult and bulldoze women seem to be the root cause for outraging modesty of women. We seem to have a primeval instinct to gang up on the weaker sex and enjoy a fleeting sense of power. This social attitude should change.

Dr. T. Rama Prasad, www.rama-scribbles.in https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com
Perundurai.

This is what Rajyalakshmi, M.Sc. said

I said something like this on the International Women's Day - March 8, 2023:

"I don't want to lecture for one simple reason. Most of the utterances, on most of these 'International Days', are mostly ritualistic. Rhetoric -- ritualistic rhetoric

and empty rhetoric -- rolls off the lips generously, every year, without any credible follow-up. And, most of the theatrical activity dissipates quickly, much like the fizzling out of the effervescence from a soda bottle. Next day, it would be 'business as usual'. One who follows up these acts can visualise a great scenario of farcical dimensions. Let's leave the hypocrisy, talk less and do more for the welfare of women in the next one year and evaluate on March 8 of 2024. Until then, goodbye !"

-- Dr. T. Rama Prasad, Perundurai, India. https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/girl-child-golden-child_29.html

What is the theme of the International women's Day 2024 poster?

The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

Why is March 8th women's Day?

It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female textile workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women, during which they called for a shorter work day and decent wages.