Celebrate your Daughter (CYD) !!

There are several communities (esp. in India) where the girl child is seen as bringing bad luck and miseries to the parents. This is because of certain social evils that still exist (like the dowry system) as well as the feeling that "investing" in the girl child is not going to bring "returns" to the parents in their old age. This has led to some very evil practices such as female infanticide as well as abusing the girl child and not providing adequate parenting.

Very obviously these are practices which are misplaced and will have dangerous consequences for both the immediate family as well as the society in the long run.

Let me explain why I think that the birth of a daughter should be a cause of celebration not only in the family but in the community and the country as well!! Daughters are as lovable as sons. They have proved that, given the opportunity, they are as capable as sons in shining both in academics as well as career. They are much more attached, affectionate and devoted to their families and tend to be much more selfless.

Although, the daughters do get married invariably and move away from their families, they tend to leave their minds with their parents and families and shower them with love on every possible occasion. The daughters are to be seen not as liabilities but rather as assets.

For a society to grow and develop, it needs more daughters. With dwindling female ratio, the society will see more stress and strife. The population will get skewed and will even stop growing. The demographics of the community and country will start worsening and it will be a question of time that the society will denigrate into chaos and anarchy.

Daughters soon become mothers and they shape their children's thoughts and value systems by inculcating the early education. Daughters who get a lot of love in their early lives tend to do the same with their children. Children who get groomed well thus, form good citizens and contribute positively to the country's growth.

Daughters are vital assets both for the family and the country as has been mentioned above. We need to recognise this and change our current practices. We need to introduce incentives and motivation to people who have daughters. We need to encourage and educate young new families on the benefits of having and caring for the girl child.

So, go ahead - Celebrate Your Daughter !!

"As son is a son only till he is wed
but daughter is a daughter till she is dead" - Anon