In this day and age, when a girl child is born into a family, most of the time everyone becomes elated as it has been established that women are not a burden at all instead, they have the greatest contributions to society. But the question arises nowadays. Can society bring an end to girls' oppression? Unfortunately, it is a regret to say that society has failed to ensure this idea. Indubitably, family plays a great role in stopping this oppression as family is the prime part of society. Mother is the blessing part of the family. She plays a significant role in ensuring her daughter's safety by creating awareness, confidence, and vigilance. A mother should teach her daughter about personal safety and growth from an early age or upbringing. She should also teach her how to identify unsafe situations. A mother should not forget to educate her lovely daughter about good touch and bad touch in a positive way. When a mother talks about the matter of these sensitive issues, she should educate herself on how to present them. When a girl child is growing up, she cannot avoid using social media and others. So, at this point, mothers should know about social media. Knowing that matter, she should inform her child about online safety, including cyberbullying and privacy protection.
A mother should build confidence and create real communication with her girl child so that she does not feel uncomfortable situation discussing any concerns. In our society, we have a great connection with our relatives and others. The most sensitive point I would like to share now. If your girl child is so little, you should observe her attitude and behavior. When she is in anyone's lap, observe how she reacts. Does she feel comfortable or not? Sometimes, we easily give our child to our dear ones; especially our male relatives. But these days, everyone should be mindful of this matter. On the other hand, girls should practice how to say "no" in uncomfortable situations. The family should give clear instructions about not going anywhere without informing the family members. A congenial environment should be created so that your girl can share with you everything. In our family, it should be assured that our boy children are getting an education about moral values so that they can respect and protect the honour of the girls. We should teach not only girls but also boys about gender equality, respect, and rights from an early age to break the biased attitudes from the family and the educational institutions as well. The modern civilization has advanced a lot. No one can disvalue the role of women at a certain period. But when we scroll social media, being a teacher some question comes to my mind: 'Have we ensured our lovely girls' safety with the advancement of our civilization?!' What have we done? What are we doing? What will we do for them?!
Some girls are born as orphans and they lead very vulnerable situations in society. How do they take education on safety from early childhood? Who will take their responsibility honestly? In this case, we, good citizens should come forward to help them. We have to ensure their legal protection by maintaining the laws strictly, especially laws against abuse, trafficking, and child marriage. Moreover, a legal guardian system with proper accountability should be established and experienced. Particularly female caregivers should be trained and trustworthy. Though it is not so easy to say that we are capable of ensuring the quality education of all girls in society, we can take the initiative to implement it for their better future. Our good intention should be to provide life skills training, such as self-defense, digital literacy, and awareness of rights. We should apply to promote the use of Child Helpline 1098 in Bangladesh if necessary. Our children will learn that only an honourable man treats women with honour and integrity, and only a vile and dishonourable man humiliates and degrades women.
The writer is a senior teacher of Navy Anchorage School and College Khulna
