WOMEN, the other marginalized group, today fare no better. The root cause of the problem is our patriarchal society.
Sons are seen as the source of honor and pride for, and as future caregivers of, the family etc. and therefore provided considerably more life opportunities.
Daughters on the other hand are seen as someone else’s property since, when married, they go and live with, and take care of, someone else’s family. Even the law of the land and the constitution gives more rights to men. For instance, a woman can inherit her parents’ property only if she is single AND over thirty-five! If she gets married though, the property reverts to her male siblings!
All of that has given rise to the following situations:
Property and landownership by women in the country is less than 20%!
Almost 3 in 4 girls are married off before the age of 20!
As you can see [below], almost twice as many women can’t read and write as men.
Even though women number slightly more than men in the country, only a fourth of households in the country are headed by women.
Women are woefully underrepresented in pretty much every social, economic and political sphere.
Girls and women in our country, as everywhere, suffer disproportionately from every single calamity – whether man made or natural. The recent earthquake being just one example.
I am certain that it’s our valuing the lives of our females so much less that has led to their biggest killer being suicide!
