“I Am Generation Equality”
I am a 20 years old undergraduate student at Pulchowk Campus, IOE pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Yes, I am a generation equality.
Source: Adapted from [4]
Despite being born in a conservative community, where the male dominance is extreme and women are still confined to home and hearth, my parents brought me up to believe in my own abilities and possibilities. I have never considered myself and any other girl to be weaker than boys in any aspect. Thus, I’ve participated in activities called ‘not so feminine’ from the very beginning of my student life till now to prove that a girl can’t be leveled less just because of her gender. My family has always made me feel fortunate by supporting my decisions regarding my own life and viewing me no less than my brother. As a result, I am pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, which is still considered to be a ‘male-friendly’ or ‘not so female friendly’ subject by our conventional Nepali society.
Our country Nepal, being a third world country with Human Development Index as low as 0.574 [1] has a total literacy rate of 67.91%, with the male literacy rate (78.59%) significantly higher than the female literacy rate (59.72%) in the age group 15 years and older [2]. As per 2011 census, 81.3% of the Nepalese population follow Hinduism[3], which views the world solely as a ‘man’s world’. This depicts that gender discrimination has its roots in the Hindu mythology. The Hindu culture revolves around patriarchy and shows heavy irony by worshiping Goddesses. Although Nepal is modernizing and gender roles are changing, the conventional beliefs create systematic barriers to gender equality.
Generation inequality is a major barrier for human development not only in our country but worldwide as it affects in various spheres such as health, education, political representation and labor markets. Thus, gender equality is not solely about women but about the entire human kind. Its time to build a fearless environment worldwide where women can raise their voices and each voice is heard. Then only, we could get closer in turning our dream world into reality where every individual has equal rights and duties regardless of their gender!
References:
[1] UN Human Development Data
[2] 2020 UNESCO Institute of Statistics
[3] Wikipedia
[4] UN Women
