Gender Discrimination
Introduction: Gender disparity means to treat girls and women in an inferior way in comparison with the menfolk. The position of women in Bangladesh is much lower than that of them. It begins with the birth of a female child. Most parents want to have a male child so that they can help their parents doing domestic work and contributing to family income. In the existing socio-economic set-up of our country, male children are best suited to this purpose.
Factors responsible for gender disparity: Religious misinterpretation and social structures discourage, often prevent girls from going to co-education schools. Even in urban schools, girls are not allowed by many parents to live in student halls because they fear for their girls’ safety. Early marriage and childbearing make women tied to a home, with no possibility of going back to school. Any expenditure for sending girls to school is considered wastage of money by many parents while that for boys is regarded as an investment. Many parents believe that their main responsibility in life is to prepare their daughter for marriage and childbearing and not for her own individual life.
State of gender disparity: The girls are born to an unwelcome world. However, they are assigned rather than confined to domestic chores. Some of these girls may be at schools. But all their work, domestic or academic stops as soon as they are married off which is the prime concern of the parents about, their daughters. Our female worker-are is less paid than their male counterparts. They cannot enjoy equal opportunities in society. They are always underestimated in every sector of life.
Effects on the women: This discriminatory treatment affects the girls physically and mentally in Bangladesh. They are given to understand that they should keep the best food for the male members in the family. They should eat less than male members. They should not raise their voices when they speak. As a result, they suffer more than their male counterparts from malnutrition and anemia. They develop a sense of self-effacement, self-denial, and inferiority that persist throughout their lifetime.
Remedy: This problem of gender disparity can be solved creating general awareness among the people about the talents and importance of the female and removing superstition against them. The attitude and practice regarding gender disparity should be changed. Measures should be taken for building women s capacity to be effective partners with a male in every field. Measures should be taken to wipe out barriers for the full participation of women in the labour force and other fields. Gender neutral environment should prevail everywhere.
Conclusion: Girls and women are not less important in society. They can contribute to the development of a society like man. Without their equal participation and contribution, no society can be developed. So the parent’s teachers and all concerned should be careful about their treatment with the girls and women. To encourage female education, the government should take more positive steps, such as giving stipends to girl students, recruiting more female teachers etc.
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