International Day of Girl Child: Parity begins at home

Gender justice burned as brightly as the October midmorning sun as the lsquoUnited Nations International Day of the Girl Childrsquo was marked by Mumbairsquos NGO the Harmony Foundation in association with Christ Church School Byculla The October 11 date saw celebrations initiatives and launches across the city with the focus on the girl child Yesterday Wednesday late morning the Byculla school played host to two special guests Additional Director General of Police Quaiser Khalid and Joint Commissioner GST Nidhi Chaudhary Khalid and Chaudhary addressed a packed hall of students on gender equality stereotypes and challengesDr Abraham Mathai founderchairman Harmony Foundation first said ldquoAny empowerment of the girl child begins with the mindset Unfortunately we see that inequality prevails in homes even if unintentional because that culture is so ingrainedrdquoSiblingsKhalidrsquos speech was riveting as it had a generous sprinkling of the personal too As with any good piece of writing or speaking the honesty shone through Khalid said ldquoWe are part of society so we as individuals also carry societyrsquos bias with us In my home we were two brothers and three sisters I saw how we my brother and I could study yet it was difficult for my sisters to study till graduationrdquoPatriarchalKhalid who has two daughters said ldquoPeople even highly educated persons express surprise at times if a couple states they do not want more children after having daughters We still have a feudal mindset People say you do not have a son who will bury you or perform the last ritesrdquo Khalid said ldquoDaughters are as dependable as sons My wife looked after her parents in their old age and I am so proud of thatrdquoKhalid earned some laughs as he said ldquoI do not know about who said Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus in fact they both are the same Respect starts from the home and schools Let us change the system make it more egalitarian equitablerdquo He then looked at all the boys in the audience and shot a burning arrow straight into their hearts and minds as he said ldquoI trust you I know you can do sordquoLeadershipChaudharyrsquos address was about the paucity of women in leadership posts peppered with statistics and highlighting certain stereotypes with the message that ldquodiscrimination exists even if in a very nuanced wayrdquo Chaudhary who referenced reservation for women in Parliament focussed on the fact that though girls and women march ahead academically ldquoThat leap from academics to jobs and leadership roles has still not fructified fully For instance there are 40 per cent girls in the country in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics STEM yet only 14 per cent become scientists engineers etc That is the gap that has to be bridgedrdquo Chaudhary said there is a similar gap between women who pass the IAS exams and finally those who go on to become IAS officersResponsibilitiesStating that we still need to see women in leadership roles in many spheres she asked her audience ldquoTell me if the maid does not come home who does the cookingrdquo Most shouted ldquoMomrdquo Chaudhary asked ldquoEven if both mom and dad work she does the work and cooksrdquo There was a resounding ldquoYesrdquo She then said ldquoSee that is the point Women may not themselves take up leadership roles because of added responsibilities or certain expectationsrdquoDreamsThe moving speech was also about Chaudharyrsquos experience ldquoI come from a small village in Rajasthanrdquo and how she and her sister had so many challenges to forge a career path but prevailed The confident woman said to girls and boys ldquoSupport each other Keep working hard and strive towards excellence God has made us equal Prejudice is buried deep down Things can happen if you dream and aspirerdquo She finished strongly to an applause as school principal Graham H closed the proceedings with ldquoWhy one day The girl child should be celebrated all through for 365 daysrdquo Every speech earned applause and was underscored with the understanding that we are on a journey to change mindsets hearts and the system with boys being a part of the engine that brings about the change14Percentage of women graduates who become scientists engineers etc