When a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. A son means insurance. He will inherit his father’s property and get a job to help support the family. When a girl is born, the reaction is very different. Some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because, to them, a daughter is just another expense.
Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a country’s attitude towards women and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole.
SABEEN IMAN
Lahore
