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When 'well-wishers' insist that parents of a girl should start buying gold right away, they are actually calling your daughter a liability.
When ‘well-wishers’ insist that parents of a girl should start buying gold right away, they are actually calling your daughter a liability.
It’s a saying that gold or diamonds – is what a girl or a woman is most fond of. Is that true for all? Well, in that case, I am an exception here.
Some say that if you get loaded with a kilo of gold at a wedding or a function, then you will figure among the eminent folk of the city. On the contrary, I yearn for ornaments which are easier to carry and look graceful and suited to my personality. My choice, my way.
Yet again some say, “It’s a future saving in the form of investment.” However, I am a woman who prefers to spend the same fund on a family vacation or if investment is to be considered, then I prefer to invest in mutual funds or a fixed deposit.
My focus here is not about the investment portfolio by the way, as I know all of you may comprehend it better these days. Then why am I talking about ‘gold’ and ‘girls’?
Let me take you on a little rewind to the days when I was blessed with an angel in my life in the form of a girl child.
“Girl child…Congratulations!
“Pari aayi hai!” (You have an angel)
“Beti toh nasib walo ko milti hai.” (Only the fortunate ones have a girl)
” Ek beti toh honi chahiye.” (Every family needs one girl)
“Ma ki saheli hoti hai betiyan.” (A daughter is a mother’s friend)
And the last punch line!
“Beti aayi hai, sona jama karo abhi se.” (You have a girl, start saving up the gold now!)
The first four statements were additionally followed by the last punch line. So, the so-called well-wishers meant to say that you should start bothering about accumulating wealth because you have given birth to an angel-cum- liability. The irony is, the same punch line never came to me when I delivered my first child, who happened to be a boy.
When I visited my native place with my two munchkins, a few relatives started to brainwash me with their great thoughts and knowledge about the investment involved in the wedding of a daughter. The same punch line tore my ears and finally, I started responding to them with respect.
“I am not sure if my daughter (who was just 3 months old then) will prefer marrying or will want to lead a professional life exploring different parts of the country as an independent woman.”
“I am not sure if gold will be the criteria of 21st-century families for tying the knot of their son with a partner.”
“I am not sure if my daughter would love to be loaded with gold to showcase her identity.”
“But I am pretty much sure that I need to be logical and reasonable about my savings for my children’s education and future and I have a portfolio professional who is the father of the family.”
This thought of ‘Gold and Girl’ is the seed which results in a harvest in the minds of people who consider the daughter, indirectly, as a liability. Wearing gold is an individual choice and it’s just a precious metal. Gold does not defines anyone’s beauty or personality.
Image credits Getty Images/Via Canva Pro
Sagarika Sahoo has done MBA and M.Com and pursued her career as a lecturer. She had short term experience in IT companies as a finance professional as well. She is now a full-time read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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