Gender Equality Is It Easy for Girls to Play Sport?

Gender Equality – Is it easy for girls to play sport?

To be treated less than what you are capable of is not just unfair, but also deeply frustrating. Who you are born as is a choice that one cannot make. And to be discriminated on the grounds of what you cannot be blamed for is utterly parochial of the society, and this shows deceitful the development is in the world today; because real development is only when every individual in this world feels a change. The story of Maria is indeed an eminent source of inspiration, but also makes one question the extent of gender equality. The situation is improving gradually in a few countries, but in most, the inequality is still abundant.

Maria’s plight is an unfortunate one that no girl should ever go through. The fact that she had to conceal her own identity to pursue her passion is disgusting. Both Maria and her family were insecure about her gender, not because they wanted to, but because the “society” would want otherwise. It is this narrow-minded opinion of the society that makes it difficult for girls to be anything more than prospective housewives. In the name of religion, people perceive what is not true and do more harm than good to the people that abide by it. Religion is a way of life, NOT a guide to imprisonment. It is conventional, but irrational to think of girls as incapable and weak to play sports, claiming them to be physically unfit. This unreasonable notion has to be eradicated, because millions of girls lose their liberty to live a life of their choice and land as a puppet in the hands of a biased world. If equality and freedom are fundamental rights, why is the female population excluded from the picture? If right to action and life are granted globally, why is nothing being done in places like Pakistan, where this is not the first time a girl has to undergo an ordeal to be equal to her male counterpart?

It IS easy for girls to play sports, but it is the misconception of the society and the people around her that make it difficult for her to do so. Maria is an epitome of evidence for this. Malala Yousafzai’s father rightly said, “In many parts of the world, when a girl is born, her wings are clipped off. She is unable to fly.” It is high time now, that we abate this evil of gender inequality. The only way to do so is by changing people’s perspective, which only enlightenment and education can fulfil. If governments themselves are barriers to this, then people’s power to protest is the only key to overcoming them. Girls are born free – free to live, free to play and free to follow their dreams. People just have to accept the fact. Women should stand up for other women, for women empowerment can only happen if they empower each other. Women, the time has come for us to spring out of our cocoons and blossom. Set yourselves free from the trap. And a change will be seen.