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The power of girls is limitless

Create a safe, wholesome environment to ensure this
FOR policymakers, parents, teachers and communities in general, the fact that investing in girl children is one of the major catalysts of development cannot be emphasised enough. We have enough proof of this in many benchmarks of a nation's progress. Girls are outshining boys in the SSC, HSC and equivalent examinations. Girls have given exemplary performances in football and cricket despite social constraints and logistical limitations.
When girls are given the opportunity, they make major contributions to society, they bring change in prejudiced, backward mindsets, they take the country forward and even initiate movements to save the world from extinction. The theme of this year's International Day of the Girl Child is “GirlForce: Unscripted and unstoppable”, which indicates the power of the girl in breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes and bringing in innovation, creativity and most importantly, solutions to problems that grownups have not been able to solve.
Yet despite the overwhelming evidence of how a nation profoundly benefits from nurturing, encouraging and cherishing girls, in Bangladesh and many other countries striving for greater economic growth, we are falling behind when it comes to ensuring a safe environment for girls to develop and take the opportunities that could allow them to reach their potential. Every day the news of a girl child or adolescent being raped jars our conscience and leaves us helpless. Rape of girl children has reached unprecedented levels despite there being stringent laws governing sexual assault. The Women and Children Repression Act 2000 stipulates that the concerned tribunal must finish trial proceedings of any case under this law within 180 days after charges are framed. But in reality, this does not happen despite High Court directives aimed at ensuring this. In fact, many rape and sexual assault cases do not even get registered at the police stations—because the child's family is poor and has no powerful connections, for fear of repercussions from the rapist(s), because of the perception that the child will be stigmatised and further harassed by unsympathetic law enforcers.
It goes without saying that the government, the law enforcement agencies, parents and the entire society must take steps to protect our girls. It is a chilling fact that from the time they are born, girl children become vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment which have led to regressive trends in our society. This includes a high incidence of child marriage (because parents fear for the security of their daughters) leading to girls dropping out of school before or after higher secondary school as well as a rising rate of suicide among girls tormented by stalking.
Society must be sensitised to shun child marriage so that parents do not try to circumvent the law with the help of falsified birth certificates or by taking advantage of the special provision in the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017. Stalking too must be shamed by society and boys must be taught at home and outside to respect girls and treat them as equals. Without such basic changes in our social consciousness, there will be little progress in our attempts to ensure a wholesome life for our girls. And until we do that, our girls and consequently our women will not have the opportunity to take our nation to the heights that we want it to reach.