Significant Turns

@9:46PM
24.01.2020

“…UNESCO estimates, 130 million girls between the ages of 6 and 17 are out of school and 15 million girls of primary-school-age — half of them in sub-Saharan Africa — will never enter a classroom [1] According to global statistics, just 39 percent of rural girls attend secondary school. This is far fewer than rural boys (45 percent), urban girls (59 percent) and urban boys (60 percent) [2].” Vartana read, flipping the pages of the light blue diary.

The journal she was reading from belonged to Vartana’s grandmother. She knew her grandmother loved writing. When Vartana was 18, her mother gifted a box full of her grandmother’s diaries. Vartana was reading an entry from 2020 C.E. to her granddaughter Sani. Sani loved hearing stories from her grandmother, especially because her grandmother would not download them and transfer it to her memory chip. She would actually tell it to her. Verbal communication in the year 2120 C.E. was rare, which is also why Sani would come to Vartana when she felt like she needed an escape from reality.

Vartana would teach Sani something new every week. She thought doing this was necessary as kids these days depended mostly on memory chips. Memory chips were designed to access basic information but people these days rely on it for most cognitive processes. She thought using one’s raw mind was essential to developing empathy. Vartana valued empathy and wanted to preserve this quality in her daughter.

Vartana understood that the concept entailed in the diary would be new to Sani. Helping Sani visualize and understand the ideas would be a task in itself, but she thought it was necessary for developing empathy.

A stream of questions descended from Sani’s brain. Among them, the first one she let out was “Why were girls not allowed to go to school? Especially in the rural areas! ”

Vartana was delighted at hearing questions. Questions were as rare as verbal communication. Memory chips allowed you to retain facts not formulate questions.

“There were many reasons, generally speaking, one of the main reasons was the unavailability of resources. People would die of hunger. Education was secondary. In 2012, it was estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls [2]. There were no schools in developing countries, in places that had schools, there were other factors that prevented them from going to school like transportation. And of course, there was another factor too: people’s mindset constructed by society. People thought that only men should go to schools and have jobs. Women were responsible for taking care of the kids and the house and were supposed to keep themselves busy in domestic chores. Some girls could not go to school because of sanitary issues. When girls went through puberty and menstruated, they did not have facilities like sanitary pads. This made it difficult for them to attend school. There are numerous factors that influenced inequity. Even in places where women worked in offices, there was a gender wage gap! It was nothing like now…” Vartana explained.

“But why?” Sani interrupted, “Why were people treated differently based on gender? Isn’t gender supposed to be part of one’s identity? Like me being a Nepali? Why did an identifying trait create such a gap in exercising or having access to basic human rights? That is unbelievable!”

“Evolutionarily women were designed to bear kids and take care of them while men went out to hunt for food. This separation of roles came about during the hunting era. Gradually, these gender roles were reinforced and shaped society. Technological advancement proceeded and we had access to more resources but these gender roles did not change at the same pace.” Varatana explained.

“But why did people simply not use memory chips to access information? Why did they need to go to ‘schools’?” Sani asked pointing towards her temple.

Vartana gently stroked Sani’s hair and answered “Well, back then, we did not have chips, information was shared verbally and preserved in writings. We used our biological brain to interpret, retain and respond to information.”

“But all people had brains, right? Everyone could reason. Right? People identifying with all genders? Yes, there might have been biological differences. But I do not think that would have stopped them from learning or performing efficiently. Right mamu?” Sani looked at Vartana. The tales of gender inequality were too foreign for her to process.

“Yes, Sani. Everyone has reasoning ability and can perform efficiently based on their training, skills, and practice. It is a fact. But people who reinforced gender roles in such a way were not as aware as you, and I am. Perhaps they too did not have access to education. Maybe they were not as because these ideas were deeply rooted inside their brains.” Vartana proposed.

“Maybe. But how did things change then? What were the steps that lead to establishing the world we are living in now?” Sani was puzzled. Because she did not know of the existence of such problems, she did not understand how they could have been solved.

“People gradually started investing in infrastructures. Schools, roads, bridges were built. Awareness, Sani! People who were aware of the existing inequity fought for gender equality. They united to spread awareness on minimizing gender-related gaps in wages, political participation & education!” She answered.

“ But that doesn’t seem like a lot to me. The problem was prevailing in so many countries!” Sani exclaimed.

“Yes. Exactly! It did not happen in a day or a few months Sani. It took decades. It includes a lot of people’s efforts. Every hand that helped build the school or simply participated in a rally contributed towards the world we are living in today. It wasn’t just one thing or one person. It was all those people, their actions, participation. Everything that happened led to this, Sani. We should be thankful towards them.”

“I am. I am very grateful. It is so beautiful. Just thinking that the people might’ve thought their actions would be insignificant. But look at how they helped shape our world!” Sani said, resting her head on her grandmother’s arm.

“I am glad that you are appreciative,” Vartana added.

“And what did your grandma do to contribute towards diminishing the disparity? Sani asked.

“Well, it was 9:46 PM on the 24th of January…” Vartana said turning the pages of her mom’s diary …” and she decided to write this.”

References:

[1] “Girls’ Education,” World Bank, 25-Sep-2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation. [Accessed: 25-Jan-2020].
[2] “Facts & Figures,” UN Women. [Online]. Available: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-2012/facts-and-figures. [Accessed: 25-Jan-2020].