“Let’s teach our daughters it’s not about being beautiful. Teach them to be bold. Be silly. Be strong. Be confident. Be independent and intelligent. Be brave and be fierce. Be real, in a world full of fake. Let’s redefine beauty.”
“We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”
Today, 11th October is traditionally celebrated as the International Day of the Girl Child to highlight the rights of girls and the unique challenges they face globally. This day was declared by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 2011. Thus, it is a day to remember girls and their dreams, struggles and potential. Although, some progress has been made on the status of women and girls in some countries, sadly being a girl (or woman) in many places is still a huge struggle under sexist, patriarchal ideals and cultural norms.
No more so than in religion itself. One needs only look to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and the lack of equal status of women in those religions at the highest and most powerful levels to realise that religious power has never been about ‘love and compassion’ or ‘equanimity’ at all, but often about maintaining male dominance, voices and perspectives. For example, the former female President of Ireland, Mary McCleese termed the Catholic Church ‘an empire of misogyny’. Even female deity statues like Noble Tārā have faced the prudish, puritanical ‘male gaze’ of religion and been censored, see here.
The forced ‘genital mutilation’/circumcision of girls for religious/cultural reason is also a major global issue. In a recent World Health Organisation report, more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced and is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15. Also, female infanticide is still considered a major issue in rural parts of countries such as India and China.
In addition, recent government reports and research are showing that girls have never faced so much ‘male gaze’ sexualisation, harassment and objectification in their schools, since the internet became so widespread and objectifed female teenagers and their bodies for male pleasure and titillation. There have been mass protests at schools in the UK, Japan, Chile and many other countries about the increasing levels of sexual harassment and abuse of girls.
At the same time, girls are facing the ‘puritanical’ male gaze of being told to cover up their bodies in case men find them sexually attractive. In recent reports, one third of schoolgirls in the UK stated they faced sexual harassment while dressed in school uniforms. There are similar issues globally, particularly in Japan where it appears to be a major issue where girls have faced molestation on public transport while wearing school uniforms.
In addition, due to unrealistic/photoshopped images of women and girls girls are feeling more and more pressure to look physically beautiful, leading to all sorts of psychological and health issues.
Yet, being a girl is really a remarkable time and should be one (like all children) of joy and innocence and play. Of one where girls have equal access to education, opportunities and respect by teachers and their peers. When I was a girl, although sexism and patriarchy were still issues, no-one had the internet or phones or easy access to social media and pornographic images. Some schools have even banned phones not only due to the major distraction but also the bullying, harassment and sexualisation of children in their use.
I have written several articles about the issues of sexism, patriarchy, gender in Buddhism, and two sections of my website and research are dedicated to the topic:
I also re-publish my poem, The Yoni Stone (2020) dedicated to the three life so called ‘female life- cycles’ of the maiden, mother and crone, as one verse says:
“Maiden.
A lily-white lotus
about to bloom.
Curious sunlight
on sea-fresh sand.
The mane of a horse
racing without a home.
Did you drown in a sea of glittery pink?
Submerged by fantasies of sex and the sink?
Suicidal virgin, Disney Princess
O heart Maiden, where have you gone?”
May we remember all the girls today, wherever they are and wish them all happy, healthy, loving independent schools and homes where they are ‘protected’ from being sexualised, dominated and controlled by both the ‘puritanical’ and ‘sexual’ male gaze!
Music? Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys, Reflection by Lea Salonga, and something more ‘rebellious’ Dress by PJ Harvey, and Rebel Girl by Bikini Girl.
Articles
Where Were the Women at the Global Buddhist Summit? The Diplomat.com (2023)
Catholic Church an Empire of Misogyny(BBC, 2018) by Mary McCleese
Chile: students force closure of Santiago schools over sexual harassment and violence. The Guardian (2022)
‘Third of girls’ harassed in school uniform (BBC, 2018)
Female Genital Mutilation (WHO Report, February 2024)