My father always emphasised on my studies. Since I was a little girl, he told me he wanted to see me working when I grew up. If I did that, I could buy all the dollies in the world since I’d be very rich and this, of course, attracted me. I would go to school every day and watch my cleaning lady’s son go as well but not her daughter. The young girl, barely 16, would stay home and help clean the house.
I didn’t realise the problem till I grew up a little bit. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to go to school, but the family didn’t feel the need for her to go to school. Sometimes that is a problem with boys also who help out the family to earn some money. But when it comes to girls’ education, the mindset in our community is generally less accommodating. They let their sons go to school to study, but think, as women, their daughters have no business there and are meant to stay home to cook and clean. This is observed especially in small villages but also in cities. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that girls often outdo boys in examination.
I once watched a documentary in which a woman interviewed a group of men asking them why they did not send their daughters to school after they reach a certain age. Their answers were similar. They all told the woman that they did not like strange men staring at their daughters. They thought it was disrespecting and they did not appreciate it.
Girls should be allowed to go to school. Their fathers shouldn’t be ashamed but be proud of it. Girls and boys should have equal rights to education and everything else. Our society needs to understand that we as young girls have equal ambitions as any boy of our age. Our dreams are for a better future and a prosperous Pakistan.
MARIAM AGHA
A student of grade 8
Lahore