Today the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child which was declared by the United Nations. It is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. This day is also for an increase in the awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based on their gender.
This inequality could be in areas of education, nutrition, medical care and even forced child marriage. The day also celebrates the emergence of girls and young women in various fields in the modern age.
In Goa, the condition of the female sex is not as shocking as it is in other parts of the country. Parents of girls in Goa were very open about their admiration for their children and hoped they would reach the stratosphere in whatever field they chose.
Namrata Naik hopes her two daughters grow up to become confident young women. The young daughter, Purvi, who is 11-years-old has participated in the National Aquatic Championship. Her interest in the sport was fuelled by her sister's interest in the sport. Namrata says she always told her daughters that they had to fight to get what they wanted. She says, “It is not an easy world and I always believed that the harder you work the results will show. The elder girl is studying science and wants to serve the country. She wants to join the air force as a technical officer. The younger one always wanted to join the Navy. I hope their dreams come true and we are fully backing their hopes and aspirations.”
The importance of living independently and being strong individuals who would not be pushed by others was emphasized by Sumidha Desai. She has two daughters with the older one aiming to become a vet. The younger girl like many her age keeps changing her ambition. She now wants to become an actress. Both of them are swimmers and both want to represent the state and then the country. Sumidha says she introduced the girls Niranja and Aarohi Borde to swimming to get healthy and to develop the fighting spirit and importantly the importance of learning to work in a team. Sumidha said every mother aims to ensure their daughter can live independently even when the mother is not there. The aim was also to ensure their daughters became independent strong individuals who would not be treated like doormats. It was also important, she said, for them to become compassionate and understand that they were fortunate to live in Goa. It was important for them to take advantage of this fact. She emphasized the fact that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Tomorrow, she said they would be running a family.
The importance of being honest and keeping them on the level was emphasized by Pranita Naik who has three daughters. She trained her daughters who are 18, 12 and 9 to conduct themselves in public in the various aspects of modern life and to maintain a balance. It was also important, she says, to respect people around them. She says she always kept them updated when something was happening and never shied away from telling them things that adults know. She says it was important to be honest with them. The elder daughter was studying for her medical entrance exams. The second girl was in the seventh standard and also preparing for the national swimming championship. She was waking up at 4 am to be at the pool at 5pm to train in Mapusa. The younger one only goes swimming in the evening in Panjim.
Living independently and making decisions and standing by them was something that Sreya Sarwankar did with her elder daughter. A mother to two girls, the elder girl who is 20 is a black belt in martial arts. She has represented the country in a tri nation tournament in Nepal. At present she is doing an interior design course. The younger girl is in Class 4. Sreya said till Class 12 of her elder daughter was her responsibility. Then she made her daughter make a decision regarding her future. Whenever she made a decision, Sreya says she would check the facts and then back her completely. In her first year in college, she let her daughter stay in the college hostel and then made her shift to a hostel where she had to learn to cook and make decisions as to what needed to be done. Sreya said it was important to be a friendly mother and to seek their trust and make them develop trust in you. That he said would help them develop confidence in themselves.
Jyoti Kole who has an 11-year-old daughter says she gave her examples from her own life, her struggles, dealing with the language barrier being a Maharashtrian in Goa and also discussing everything openly so that she understood everything without any problems. She laughed and said her daughter was mature for her age.
Dr Varsha Munj whose husband is also a doctor has a 16-year-old daughter Snigdha who is interested in becoming an engineer. She says she did nothing but encourage her to voice her opinion. She says she spoke to her daughter about menses and made her less anxious. It was important to not be judgemental and believe them. She laughed and admitted her daughter was a little more mature.