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Debate: Discriminating between the two
“Ammi, Ammi please! May I go to Sana’s place. She has arranged a party and invited all her friends including me.”
“No! You aren’t allowed to go out at this time.”
“Mum! Mum! Ask Zareen to press my clothes and polish my shoes for I’m going for a football match.”
“OK darling! What else?”
From the above lines discrimination between the two i.e. girls and boys becomes quite clear. Girls, specially in our part of the society, are mostly considered weak helpless creatures. They are taken to be inferior beings and are totally dependent on the male members of the family.
Pampering males
Mostly parents show their joy and excitement on the birth a male child. They arrange parties and celebrate the birth as a marriage occasion. Quite often parents feel proud of giving birth to a boy. Boys are pampered, given more importance and love, their feelings and emotions are taken into account, their ideas and views are respected and each and every desire is fulfilled. Boys, on the other hand, aren’t grateful to their parents but grow up to become spoilt brats.
The reason for pampering boys is that boys are considered to be the future bread winners of the family. Parents think they ought to pamper and shower extra love on them, because in the near future they’ll share their economic burden and pressure.
Ignoring and degrading girls
Girls are made to realize that they are a burden on their families. They can’t do the things that they desire. Quite often, they have to obey their brothers’ orders and do their work like servants. Girls themselves don’t realize their due rights and think the way others behave with them is right. A revealing picture of such an attitude is of our servant Qulsoom who has got two daughters and one son. She brings both her daughters to our house for household chores where as her son is studying at school. On asking her why doesn’t she send her daughters to school she remarked: “What’s the purpose of sending girls to school? When one doesn’t get any benefit from them, whereas my dear son would earn for me.” I was shocked and amazed at such thinking.
Due to discrimination between girls and boys, hatred between the two arises. Boys have a feeling of being superior and despise the girls. They take advantage of being males and try to dominate the girls.
The boys aren’t bound to any sort of restrictions whereas girls are restricted forever. They aren’t allowed to step out of the house without covering their head or accompanied by their brothers.
Often parents are not in favour of providing higher education to their daughters. They give priority to the demands and needs of their sons more than their daughters.
At school some of my friends complain about the attitude of their parents. One of my friends once asked me, “Ifrah! Do your parents behave the same way as mine. In our house there is a marked difference between me and my brother, I’m not even allowed to listen to music or go out with my friends. Whereas he does what he wants, returning home late at night. I’m questioned on the slightest issues, whereas there’s no one to inquire about him.”
My answer was in the negative with sheer joy in my eyes. My parents are very affectionate, loving and considerate towards me and my elder sister. In our home there is no discrimination and complete equality in love and affection.
Gender discrimination is a universal attitude which needs to be reformed. It is applicable to every country and every class of people. This attitude of the society reveals their narrow mindedness and low mental level. This attitude has to be changed before boys start thinking of themselves as the masters of the world!
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