International Girl Child's Day

Today in her first email to me for the day Angira wished me Happy International Girl Child's Day and she went on to say "Today is the day for all girl children like you and me to thank our parents for their constant support and for having faith in us." Truly it is. Women like us, being born and growing up in South Asia, we have never ever felt any of the horrifying things that we keep hearing about in the newspapers. Or our parents went out of their ways to make sure that we grew up equal with our brothers, got educated and enjoyed the right to choice. I know not many women in South Asia can claim such privilege and I am immensely grateful that I am one of those few who do. When I was in Canada I came across people who were really curious about me being from India. They were surprised that at 28 years I was single and there was no pressure from my parents to get married. This did not match with what they had heard about women in South Asia. So then I would indulge into a little bragging trip about my parents. Continuing with the bragging I think some of us got the best of both the worlds-- we got liberated upbringing of the West and immense family security and support structure of the East.

Ok enough about the 'lucky us'. This photo above is of a little girl we met in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh. Her father ran the village grocery shop and she was in the shop with her father after school. Somehow her equation reminded me of my equation with my father.

Also addiding some of the posters of Jagori. I just love their posters.