Being a girl in South Asia
‘A breeze of impasse and she’s a force to be reckoned with’.
She is a little bit of everything. She is the limitation and the limitless, she is bound to be freed, celebrated at every phase of her life stands a girl of South Asia. A region known for its struggles with caste, religion and class discrimination grapples with catering to its female counterparts. Where the birth of a girl is said to bring ‘luck and fortune’ taking it to a new house and cultivating it to the next generation. A sentence summing up her whole life.
She is always regulated by the man: her father, husband or son. When is she ever just a woman? Defined by everything else around her. The society validates and controls her resources, identity, feelings and body. Though we see a humongous improvement in access to education and health it is still inadequate in many ways that is even more evident amidst the lockdown. As the nation battled the pandemic young girls were robbed of their education rights either due to unavailability of digitalization or an excuse to having studied ‘enough’. Hundreds of mothers lost their lives for not getting the suitable treatments. Why is it that the needs of women always take a back seat in our country?
From food to funds the first priority is always the male child and the female is taught to be the self-sacrificing idol whose glory we still sing to and further the irrational beliefs. The girl today breaks these but not without being labelled too ‘stiff’ compared to the other sex who are ‘woke’ men. Who ‘allows’ her to live the way she wants as far as it does not jeopardize fulfilling her roles to the family. Her insignificance is the significance. The weight of being someone’s honor rests on her shoulders. A dishonoring preparator does not harm her but ‘taints’ the said reputation. Her silences are deafening words that are open to convenient interpretations of others. Today we see a surge in crimes against women underlying is the means to repress the growing voices that threaten to consume the long going patriarchy. She is Malala Yousafzai, a young activist from Pakistan shot for abiding to her rights, she is the dynamic leader Sarojini Naidu who become the first women president of the Indian National Congress and did wonders for her homeland, she is Kamala Bhasin a feminist icon way ahead of her time with ever going relevance. To live she has to prove her worth and she is still tested beyond. As South Asians we forge ahead with hope for a better future with the echoes of the bygones in our hearts, so is the inextinguishable blaze of every decade that is a girl of South Asia.
About the author
Ishika Ajay, member at PsyCreative Column
Psychology Committee, SDSOS, NMIMS
Ishika is a psychology undergraduate who aims to make healthcare more accessible and easier to navigate for people. A literature and arts enthusiast who enjoys writing, music and poetry. Her friends describe her as funny, witty and approachable. An old soul who has a generation gap with her own generation, she is a thinker who muses on purpose of one self and others. She aims to bring a change if not within society then with her dear ones.
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