Because I am a girl: The State of the World's ... - Plan Deutschland

Learning
your place:
discrimination
begins at home
2
B o n n i e M i l l e r
1 “They only have praise
for my brother”
One son is children, two daughters are none.
Vietnamese proverb 1
To raise and care for a daughter is like
taking care of somebody else’s garden.
Nepalese proverb 2
What are little boys made of?
Snakes and snails,
And puppy dog tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And everything nice,
That’s what little girls are made of.
Traditional British nursery rhyme
In this chapter, we examine how the roots
of discrimination between girls and boys
begin in the home. We look at how this
impacts on children in their early formative
years. We reveal the importance of attitudes
towards gender in the family, and how
gender-equal, early-years programmes can
make a difference to these attitudes. We
shine a spotlight on housework, and reveal
changing trends and attitudes towards boys
and men doing the washing-up. We look
at the importance of fatherhood and how
some men are getting their hands dirty when
it comes to childcare and other household
tasks, providing important role models for
their children, especially their sons. And
finally, we show how programmes in specific
countries are helping to break the cycle of
gender inequality for future generations.
In many countries, it is clear on the day a
baby is born that boys are more important
than girls. Sometimes this begins in the
womb, through sex-selective abortion. A
2006 household survey in India came to
the conclusion that based on conservative
estimates, the practice of sex-selective
abortion means that half a million fewer
female babies are born a year. 3 In addition,
a recently released 2011 Indian Ministry
of Home Affairs census has concluded
that the female-to-male ratio for children
under six years has slipped from 927 in
2001 to 914 girls for every 1,000 boys.
This is India’s lowest girl child gender ratio
since independence in 1947. 4,5 It is also a
phenomenon that has huge implications for
social relations and partnering for future
generations.
32 the s tate of the world’s girls 33