The Girl Child and her fundamental human rights in the society In most countries, the first victims of human rights violation are the girls. Additionally, they suffer double discrimination for their gender and age. Today, they are more discriminated when compared to boys today. Furthermore, this discrimination gets worst when the individual is disabled, poor or from a minority group. The male child doesn’t face most of the aforementioned issues faced by the girl child. The following facts show the basic differences between the boy and the girl child.
Girls within the age of five are three times likely to suffer malnutrition compared to boys under five years.
50% of sexual assaults globally involve girls under the age of 16
Each day about 25,000 girls get forced into marriages.
In developing countries, one in every three girls doesn’t have the opportunity of completing their primary education.
Fundamental Human right laws for the girl child Right to Life When compared to boys, girls’ right to life isn’t taken seriously. Girls die frequently before five years whereas the boys born are intentionally nurtured to full age. There are various factors that contribute to this situation. One of such is to have a son rather than a daughter. For China instance where the law forbids people giving birth to more than two children, many parents prefer the boy child to the girl child.
Right to Education About 96 million girls are said to be illiterate when compared to 57 million boys. For countries, girls’ education is not given a priority rather they reserve the position of the girl to the house to help her mother and cater for the needs of her siblings.
Right to Protection This is also a major issue where girls’ aren’t protected from child marriage, sexual assaults, trafficking, and forced pregnancy. Statistics have shown that about 50% of sexual assaults are
committed against girls below 16 years. Besides this, there is also domestic violence, which is perpetrated against them without anyone standing up for them.
Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Sexual abuse is a forced act against a person intended to make them carry out sexual behaviors against their will. Sexual abuse can be physical or psychological and does not always involve physical contact with the victim, for example, when someone is forced to be in pornographic pictures or videos, or as in the case of forced prostitution. Sexual abuse is an abuse of power and is one of the most harmful types of violence, both physically and psychologically, because it increases the risk of serious health problems such as sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and psychological damage leading to depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, etc.
Child Marriage and Pregnancy Every year, 10 million girls worldwide get married before the age of 18. This fact can have serious repercussions on their futures. It can prevent them from completing their education and can put their health at risk if they become pregnant while they are still very young. Pregnancy is the number one cause of death among 15 to 19-year-old girls. Both the girls’ lives and the lives of their babies are at risk because the girls’ bodies are not yet mature enough to safely carry a child and they often do not have access to medical care during the pregnancy, birth, or post-natal period. Each year, 70,000 teenagers die in developing countries due to complications related to childbirth or pregnancy.
Author’s Bio Peace Love in this article looks at the fundamental human rights of the girl child in India. She expounds on the discrimination faced by girl child in India.