Daughters, Wives and Mothers
Almost ten years ago, I asked several women one simple question: IF you had a choice, what would you choose to be reborn as? Nine out of ten times, the answer was, "A man". I doubt very much whether the response would be any different today. Years of social conditioning erode at a woman's perception of herself. She is taught that she is physically, emotionally and intellectually inferior and, therefore, undeserving of any care and consideration. The little she receives by way of food, clothing and shelter is considered a privilege for which she is expected to pay by contributing her (non-wage) labour to the family. She learns to become passive and resigned to her fate.
That the root of this problem lies in infancy and childhood is an accepted fact. As reported in The Lesser Child, from the day of her birth, a girl is viewed as a burden and a liability. The obsession for sons cuts across all barriers of class, caste and religion, and determines the amount and quality of investment that parents make in their female children. More often than not, girls are physically and emotionally deprived of the family's affection and resources. The web of prejudices that a girl child encounters rob her of both her individuality and her dignity.