By Princess Pat Akpabio
“A girl child is a female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood when she becomes a woman. The term girl may also be used to mean a young woman and is often used as a synonym for daughter”.~Girl Wiki Everipedia
There is a need to educate the 21st century moving forward girl child about her self and the society that is predominantly men oriented and powered that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an Amazon and Renaissance girl child.
That there is nothing wrong in standing up for yourself and defending your stand in whatever you believe is best for you and putting your needs, desires on the table without apologizing for it. I want to make this article a discussion with you my readers.
So I ask you this question: As a child, what is the one thing that happened in your life negatively that has in any way affected, influenced you as a woman today? I expect your answers in the comments section.
Let us discuss the girl child’ talents.
First, how can a girl child discover the talent in herself or woman as the case maybe?
Answer: Your perception of yourself is very important as well as complex. Compared to how you cannot see your own nose and eyes except you look In the mirror, you may very well be blinded to your best talents and gifts. You may have a difficult time identifying your brightest talents because they may be hidden within you and often in the places you least expected.
You never know, You may be excellent at the very things that you may perceive yourself as being not so good at.
Society has made the girl child have a narrow mindset as to what is acceptable for a woman in a male-driven society: A good place to start when evaluating your talents is to just have an open mind to the possibilities.
Keep in mind that talents go beyond just playing the piano, drawing, or dancing like a professional. Talents come in all forms, shapes, and sizes and extend into many areas of life that you have to be open to explore without reservations.
Let us that a short journey into your past. As you think on yourself in search of your talents, examine the things that you have done successfully, you excelled and you really enjoyed doing them without apologizing for them.
Ask yourself questions like "What did I do in the past that I am most proud I did?”, or "When in my life was I so proud that I didn't care what anyone thought about me and my style of doing things?"
Think about the times in your life that you felt challenged and out a given situation. Think about the tough situations that you had faced and how you handled it. You hidden skills, talents, gifts that have a way of traveling herself during your trying periods.
For instance, when you found out that you had to have emergency surgery in the middle of a school semester as a working-class student, how did you deal with that? You have to need to Evaluate what you are best at.
What are the environmental conditions that can make or mar these talents from thriving or growing?
A. Traditions and cultures made by men Example Dress code: how a girl child should dress. African culture is a Religious society. we are believed to dress a certain way.
If you were to wear a booty short, Leg chain, mini skirts, you don’t cover your hair when you are going to certain churches or places, you wear pant trousers, etc. It is considered inappropriate- you will be labeled for dressing indecently. All these fit into the traditions and cultures made by men for women to follow.
This can mar the talent of a girl child from growing because you can’t express yourself to fit into a society that is fixated on how a woman should dress to fit in.
B. Gender inequality: We don’t even have to talk because we all know that many men don’t even want to have women in leadership positions.
Be it in the church, politics, be in the corporate Environment and I dare to say marriage too. The greatest enemy of a woman is another woman. For example, a father says to his daughter let’s go and play and the mother says let your brother go and play with your father and you come with me in the kitchen let’s cook.
What is wrong with the male child cooking and the female child plays with the father? I give another example: there is a discussion going on and the female has an opinion to Air out and the mother says or an Aunty says, women are to be seen not heard.
What have you just done to the girl child? You just basically said to her shut up you shouldn’t have an opinion .
C. Abuses: Physically abused and she complains about it. She is cheated on she complains and a Pastor’s wife or a female figure will say go and pray all men are cheats?
Where is that written in the Bible or cataloged in the grand creation of mankind? Why is it that if and I mean if a woman cheats on the man, the man isn’t advised to go and pray for his wife that women also cheat? But rather the woman is labeled a prostitute and called all kinds of degrading names in the society with holier than thou attitudes?
My father Late Chief C. B Akpan once told me, “a man will never treat you the way you deserve to be treated but the way you allow him to treat you.”
D. Favoritism and gender preference: Why can’t a mother encourage her daughter to become the president but would rather encourage her son? If the girl child tries to insist, the mother will discourage her that it is a male-driven society?
Every child should be given equal rights and opportunities regardless of sex. Who made it a male-driven society? We did. Yes, we did And I mean women, we gave men the powers to run our lives.
I am expecting to you read your thoughts on the question “As a child, what is the one thing that happened in your life negatively that has in any way affected, influenced you as a woman today?”
If we allow the talents and gifting of a girl child to find expressions in our society at large parallel by the dreams of the male child, I can assure you, so help me God that we will have a better society, a better family structure, a better church, and a better government.
I am Princess Pat Akpabio and this is Changing minds changing attitudes.