SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
WOMEN’ S CELL
GIRL CHILD EMPOWERMENT
– NEWSLETTER MARCH 2015
FOREWARD
“And though she be but little, she is fierce”
-
Shakespeare
For years India has been a patriarchal society. However with the changing times and the drastic
transformation gender roles have undergone, there is a sudden realisation for the need of girl
child empowerment. With this exact belief Women’s Cell of Symbiosis Institute of
Management has started on this remarkable journey of empowering the girl child.
India is not the only country who has for ages not only forgotten but also neglected the needs
and the importance of girls in its society. There are many Southeast Asian countries who suffer
the same plight. The fact that the female child is not given equal importance as the male child
and is given way less opportunities is one of the root cause for many evils that have plagued
not only the women of this world, but the society at large.
India celebrates the National Girl Child Day on 24th January and in order to commemorate this
day, the Women’s Cell organised an article writing and photography competition. Some of
these remarkable works of students have been published in this newsletter.
Our flagship – Womancipation – is slated for September 2016 and we hope to have a lot of support
from all you readers for the same.
Senior Editors:
Mekhala Dighe
Sanjukta Malakar
By Ayesha Sen
Batch 2015-17
I hail from a middle class urban family and I have one irksome younger sibling to call my
sister. Approximately a year back before I packed my bags and shifted base to Pune, my family
was entertaining some friends over at our place in New Delhi and as talks progressed amidst
my father’s excellent choice of wine and my mother’s and maternal aunt’s cooking, I heard my
mother’s remarkably distinct voice say to all present “All I wish for both my daughters is that
they should both complete their higher education and learn to drive before they settle down”,
everyone good naturedly cheered to that. But today, as I sat down to pen down this article about
women empowerment, this is the thought that flashed foremost in my mind. My mother’s need
to make such a statement in a way manifests her fear that her girls may miss out on such a
simple thing as education or driving a car and this leads to a secondary question of why does
of all things does only these two wishes she hopes for. While me and my sister were growing
up my father had time and again mentioned in all his fatherly devotion to anyone who perhaps
wanted to hear that “I don’t have two daughters but two sons”. Both these statements by my
well-meaning parents somewhere imply that how fearful even the educated society is of their
daughters missing out on an opportunity. They fear that perhaps if the girls knew how to drive
and were educated enough they would be, what we call, independent and perhaps empowered.
I say, it is this intrinsic fear, and not the statistics published by UNICEF that India is the 2nd
largest nation when it comes to child marriages, the core need for Empowerment of the girl
child today.
In India even as we celebrate the 8th National Girl Child Day we are plagued by problems in
areas like inequality in education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, protection, honour and
child marriage. It is undeniable that we have come a long way since independence but we still
hear countless stories of girls sacrificing their education for giving the opportunity to the male
siblings in the family, it is not education that these girls just give up, they give up on dreams.
We have eons of instances where a woman in the driver seat in a metropolitan city like Delhi
attracts stares from people in fellow vehicles. We have standards in society that say that a girl
is to be married early because she may have sexual relationship or may not make a suitable
match.
For millions of girls in India and around the world, sexual abuse, trafficking into prostitution,
marriage at an early age, denial of education are nightmares bordering on reality. Kailash
Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner says that “Globally, girls are the worst victims and
sufferers. They are denied education - almost 60 per cent of the illiterate children in the world
are girls and so he believes that education of the girl child is of key here; because when a girl
enters school, millions of doors of opportunity open. That is the case with all children, but with
girls, education gives a better future to the entire generation and generations to come. It has a
ripple effect. With girls, the economic return is much higher because they can acquire new
skills they wouldn’t otherwise get. If girls are educated, then later on in life, they are able to
manage money and become economically independent. Women’s economic empowerment
minimizes or completely abolishes evils such as domestic violence or sexual abuses. It helps
create more harmony in the family because women have a bigger say. We create more
sustainable families, sustainable society and eventually a sustainable world.”
I agree with Mr. Satyarthi on the point of education as being the medicine for all evils, one
entire generation of an educated population will change India in years to come both in mindset
and practical realities of the world, but I differ from him on education of girl child only. I say
educate the boys also because only through education can a literate and positive society
germinate. The society can go further if the men in the society understand these issues fully too
and only then can we be truly be called a developed nation.
I remember now these lines I read a few years back by HarperCollins author Diane Mariechild
and they stayed with me, these lines encapsulate the entire story and the need for girl child
empowerment and these are what I wish to leave the readers of this article with.
“A woman is a full circle.
Within her, lies the power to create nurture and transform”
By Anjali Bisht
Batch 2015-17
‘Empowerment’ is apparently the trending topic in today’s society. But before we start the
hullabaloo over empowerment of a girl child, let me give you a glimpse of some reality. Yes,
today’s girls are getting empowered, no denying that. They are reaching heights unimaginable!
They are achieving more than anyone could ever dream of. But these achievers are just a
fraction of girls that are empowered and who were fortunate enough to receive the right
guidance, education and support. The question is, are all of them empowered?
“She was 8 when she decided to put on the mask. 15 years later, she is still looking for the
child who disappeared behind it.”
When she was a young girl, she was always pampered and protected by her parents. She was
perpetually reminded to be careful and wary of strangers when outside the walls of her home.
Little did she know that she had to be cautious inside the doorstep too. She was looked at, not
how she should have been. She was treated, not how it was supposed to be. She was touched,
not where she should have been. Her innocuous laughter and chaste smiles were taken as
innuendos by someone around her. An uncle, a cousin, a family friend, it could be any of these.
She was harmed in a way no person deserves to be. She was scarred in a manner no person can
ever think of. She chose to tell her Maa, hoping things would change. They did change. The
incidents stopped. Just that mother hid the entire story from the family. It was the first ever
‘little secret’ shared between a mother and her daughter. Is she empowered?
A 13 year old girl is made to quit school because her Baba cannot afford her education. One
week later, she is married to a 25 year old man. New clothes, new shoes, gold jewellery, new
home. The school fee is paid in her dowry. Is she empowered?
A 14 year old rape victim is ostracised by her family and society. She is accused of being raped.
She is responsible of getting marred for life. She is the culprit who wore body-fit denim in a
place where she wasn’t considered a human being but a piece of meat. Is she empowered?
“I’m sorry, it’s a girl.” These words were enough for the new father to lament having a daughter
for the rest of his life. If only he were educated and wise enough, he would have taken the news
in a different way. He would have understood that she is not a liability to him, but a prized
asset to be cherished forever. She is not a burden on her family; her tender shoulders are able
to take the weight of her entire family if shown the right path. The future of that new-born girl
now depends on the mentality and decisions of her parents. Will she be empowered?
As I sit down to pen my thoughts on empowerment of a girl child, the first thing that comes to
my mind is that if I know the meaning of empowerment? Maybe not perfectly, but I can give
it a try after all! According to me, empowering a person or persons means enabling them to
believe that they can be anything and everything they wish to be. It means helping them in
shaping their lives and futures the way they think is beneficial for them and the society.
Empowering a girl would mean, according to me, giving her the strength and courage to stand
up to her beliefs and follow her ethics. Empowerment does not come by mere monetary
assistance. It comes by constant support, trust and education.
I do not say that girls are the supreme gender. No, I’m not going to be a feminist here. But just
imagine a world without women! Wouldn’t paint a pretty picture, would it? I do not say that
girls should be given more priority or opportunities than men. All they need is to be given an
equal chance in front of their male comrades. Education, sports, literature, management, you
name it and women are masters in the field. All they need is an opportunity. Girls of this century
do not wish to be a liability. Their aspirations are far higher than the Everest. Given the correct
guidance, support and encouragement, they can turn the tables in the blink of an eye.
Empowerment will not be achieved until and unless every girl in the country is independent
and encouraged to pursue her dreams. Empowerment will never be achieved if even a single
girl feels afraid of walking down the street at 9 pm. Look around and ask yourself, is the little
girl empowered yet ?
By Anjali Tomar
Batch 2015-17
The one, who brings the smile on our face, let’s remove the tears of her life,
The one, who makes us forget our sorrows, let’s remove the fears of her life,
The one who makes our lives enlightened let’s bring back the light of her life,
Empower her; the strength of this nation, let’s end the night of her life
In a nation , where girls are known to be worshipped as goddess is also the nation where 1 out
of 4 girls gets sexually abused before the age of 4. We all love our mothers and sisters taking
care of our food ensuring us to get all nutrition yet we are ignorant to the fact that one in every
two girls in India is a victim of undernourishment. Along with that more than 1 in 3 women in
India are anaemic. We have slogans all around “Nanhikali” “Beti Bachao” and on the other
side is a child weeping with silence that gets killed even before coming to this world for the
crime of being a “girl”. The lucky ones to survive fall into the trap of child marriages or give
up their lives in the name of dowry. “An educated girl can educate the whole nation” is nothing
but sarcasm on the face of the fact that 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.
All these numbers speak, yes, they speak a lot. We cannot just sit in our room and take a heavy
sigh and leave the situation like that. Neither can we just say girls that “You have power and
so now your troubles will vanish”. Here comes the need of empowerment. Empowerment in
its own sense has a deep meaning. Through empowerment the objective should be to give the
girls the strength that they can live their life in their way, take their decisions themselves, walk
on roads without fear and live a healthy life with their head held high. Empowerment of a
nation begins with empowering its most crucial part; women and empowerment of women
begins with empowering the girl child.
There are several ways to empower a girl child but it all merges to education. We need to
ensure that every girl gets proper education. Also we need an education system that not just
teaches theory subjects but also life skills. We need to make girls aware of their rights; that
they are entitled to equality, literacy, freedom of speech and expression and all the other rights
that our constitution provides to the so called “citizens “ of the country but blatantly ignores
providing those rights to girls. An educated girl not just transforms her life but also the lives of
those around her be it her parents, children or spouse.
From childhood itself, equal importance should be given to the nourishment of a girl child
equivalent to that of a boy. Since a girl child if is undernourished she grows on to have diseases
or abnormalities that creates problems with her child too. Hence, we need to get every girl child
properly nourished as we have the health of whole nation at stake.
Rapes are harsh reality of this country. We have gone enough into laws; rarest of the rare cases,
juvenile courts, etc. ,so let’s not get into all that and leave that for the entertainment of
advocates and judges. If we really want some serious transformation to occur, we need to
change the very foundation of our society. If since childhood, boys see girls as being treated
equally, if they learn seeing them with respect, will they ever think of committing such crimes?
We need a change in perception; the very perception that is entangled in everyone’s mind of
seeing girls as someone weak. All we need is to change the narrow thinking.
Many initiatives are being taken in the same direction. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
said in New York that “Educating a girl child is the key to women’s empowerment. The
government has allocated budget of 150 crores for safety of women in cities and 50 crores for
their safety on public transport. There are several NGOs working for the same. There are
incentives given to girls for studies. Many parents fear that their girl will not be safe if sent far
to study. Hence, schools should be made within reach. In short, the whole society needs to
come together and support this little petal to grow and blossom as a flower spreading the divine
fragrance of happiness everywhere. For all that dream to come true, let’s begin with
empowering the girl child.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-16
WOMANCIPTION 2015
RAKSHABANDHAN - 2015
NATIONAL GIRL CHILD DAY - 2016
WOMEN’S CELL HEAD
PROF. DR. PRADNYA CHITRAO
SENIOR TEAM
MEKHALA DIGHE
ADITI SUD
SANJUKTA MALAKAR
EDNA DANIELS