Women's day

Hello there,
Today is women’s day in Nepal and I only have to work half of the day, because I am a womanJ. You think that’s unfair for the guys? Probably true, but I have to add that this day might be the ONLY time you would want to be a girl in Nepal. Girls are systematically discriminated against from the time one can identify them as female. As fetuses, girls are more likely to be aborted. As a Nepali saying goes: “To give birth to a girl is bad luck”. In the eyes of most traditional Nepali, especially in rural communities, girls have no worth. The reason is that once they get married, they are lost as a working hand in the household, because they have to work for the mother-in-law from now on.

Happy girl allowed to jum-rope? Or neglected girl not allowed to go to school?

This means, that girls are not only less likely to be born in the first place, they will also receive no care or love after birth. All available funds are put into the boys. The boys are allowed to go to school, to get an education and a chance at a better future; girls have to stay home and work from morning till evening. They have to go fetch water from the spring, which can be 2 hours away one way. They have to wash the clothes in the river, clean the house, care for the siblings, cook the meals, etc. Speaking about meals, girls have to wait with the eating until the boys are done. Often that means they go hungry. Boys will get warm clothes; girls often only have one shirt and no pants. Boys receive medicine; girls either make it through a sickness or die. With no education, the only chance at a secure future is an early marriage. But once married, the daughter has to obey the mother-in-law and work for her family.

Families desperately in need for money, will also often sell their daughters for 50-80$ into slavery when they are 4 to 6 years old. The girls are then called “Kamalari” or “Hard working woman” and they have to work for their new owners – often 14 to 18 hours a day - for many years without any reimbursement.



Men doing absolutely nothing

  



An old woman working hard
             

Oh and another horrible tradition still observed by many rural communities is that girls/women who have their period are not allowed to be inside a house. They are considered impure. They are not allowed to cook or touch anyone. So, the girls have to leave their homes for the time of their menstruation and go live in a hut/tent/shed in a nearby forest. They are not allowed to come out but at night when they can wash their bloody clothes in the river. When the husbands are asked how they can do this to their beloved wives, they will answer: “well she is bleeding so I cannot leave her in the house; but because she is loved, we built her the shed so she does not have to be without shelter”.
I think now you can see why almost all girls in Nepal want to be boys. Just like we are privileged by being born on the other side of the world, boys are privileged by having a y-chromosome. Of course these practices are against all human rights and a by now illegal. That’s why Plan International, a child-centered help organization fights for the rights of girls. Another day, I will talk more about Plan International in general, but today I want to emphasize its “Because I am A Girl Campaign”.  

 

Because I am a Girl is Plan's campaign to fight gender inequality, promote girls' rights and lift millions of girls out of poverty. Research has shown that girls are more likely to suffer from malnutrition; be forced into an early marriage; be subject to violence or intimidation; be trafficked, sold or coerced into the sex trade; or become infected with HIV. Plan is trying to get people aware and involved. With Plan's help less girls are neglected or abused, more girls get an education, and more girls can earn a living so they are not forced to marry when they are young.

Girl at a Plan School. When allowed to go to school,
girls are often more eager to learn and they
study harder to show their parents their gratitude.



The campaign site can be found here: http://plan-international.org/girls/ check it out for more information.

Alright, that is all for today. Have a great women’s day and celebrate the women in your life.
Namaste,
Annika