Scholar-Journalist of the Week: Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao!

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report of this year, India ranks 135 out of 146 countries. Our country has slightly improved its position in the last one year in these global rankings, but we are at a sharp decline since 2006, when we ranked 98 among 115 countries.

The statistics are concerning as we witness increasing cases of gender discrimination each day. More often than not, girls and women do not even realise that they are being discriminated. Whether we blame societal conditioning or patriarchy for this, the need to provide educational support to the females of the country is quite evident.

And so, Kanan Malik, a class 7 student of Apeejay School, Faridabad Sector 15 is doing her bit to spread awareness. The student has penned down her thoughts about the nation-wide campaign, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao!’ in the Scholar-Journalist segment as she strives to bring change in society. She says, “I love to think, discuss and write about themes of politics and equality. I read about the social campaign for the first time in the newspapers.”

Aiming to promote gender equality, Kanan emphasised that India still lags behind due to lack of awareness and quality education. In the future, she dreams of becoming an author. “Recently, I read a book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of the American writer and poet Maya Angelou. Her story about overcoming racism and trauma truly inspired me. It further fuelled my belief that women are capable of anything, and so, no manner of discrimination should hold them back,” she explains.

As part of extracurricular activities in school, Kanan loves to draw and participate in Spell Bee competitions. She further highlighted that gender roles ascribed to individuals is very problematic. “Why should boys be made to feel physically strong and girls must take up the responsibility of household chores? These expectations are limiting and incorrect. Each one has the right to be,” she emphasises.

Lastly, for her fellow classmates wanting to start at writing, she advises to choose topics that one feels strongly about. “Research well and use good vocabulary to enrich your piece, ” says Kanan.