1. Why might girl children be at risk even before birth?
In some societies sons are thought to be more precious than daughters. The baby,
growing inside her mother, may already be in danger because her parents
might choose to have an abortion when they find out that their baby is
a girl.
2. In many societies, having sons raises a family's importance. What is the effect of this idea? When one group of people is believed to be more valuable than another,
it often results in unfair treatment of the other group. This is the
case when girls are treated less fairly than boys.
3. In some societies, if a mother has only daughters, she may keep having children until she has a son. Why?
In some societies, mothers are led to believe that their status or importance depends
upon how many sons they have. These mothers usually see two options:
having many pregnancies in order to have sons, or having special tests done before the baby is born. If the mother finds that the baby growing inside her is a girl, she and the father may then choose to have the baby killed. They call this abortion.
4. In many societies, why do parents believe that good nutrition is more important for sons than daughters
Because they believe that the family's survival depends on
what their sons earn. They are also likely to believe that boys'
needs for food and health care should come before those of girls.
5. Worldwide, less girls than boys are immunized against childhood diseases. Why? Families often care for boys' health more than girls, especially if they have just a little money and believe that a boy will get a better job and earn more money for the family.
6. Worldwide, is malnutrition (lack of enough good food) more common among girls than boys? In a number of
countries, girls are given less food than boys. Girls may also be given
poorer quality food than their brothers. And because girls may receive
less medical care than boys, girls' malnutrition may not be noticed,. It can lead to serious health problems.
7. When and where does violence against women and girls happen? Violence occurs in many forms and in all countries, alot of the time. Girls and women are left without care, left alone, hurt by beatings or hard labor and abused in many ways. Even laws in some countries result in mistreatment of women and girls. Violence against women and girls is too often taken for granted: people say: "its just the way things are."
8. In the world today, nearly1 milliongirls are working as prostitutes. How does this happen?
In situations of great poverty, girls and their families may be
forced to accept prostitution as necessary for economic survival.
9. In the workforce, is a girl with little education usually poorly paid? Highly-paid jobs usually require education or skills training. If a
girl's family or community stops her from getting education or vocational
training, she may have little choice but to take poorly paid, dead-end jobs.
10. Why are young girls are often too tired to study? Even when girls are enrolled in school, the burden of household chores
may leave them too tired to learn. They may become drained and weighed down and drop
out of school. This kind of unfair treatment against girls may be
invisible to the outside world, or taken for granted.
11. Of the school-age children in developing countries who are not going to school, about two thirds, 2/3 - are girls; why is this true?
There are many reasons that families prefer to send boys rather than
girls to school. They may believe that girls do not really need an
education. Or they may think that the school is too far away, or that
it lacks the right equipment for girls.
12. Why are young teen-aged girls sometimes forced into early marriage by their parents? Especially among families living in poverty, arranging an early
marriage for a daughter may reduce the number of mouths to feed if the
marriage means that she goes to live with her husband's family.
13. What other reasons do families force young girls into early marriage?
Many other things may influence a family's decision to marry their
daughters at a young age. Marrying off daughters may be a way for the
family to gain status or importance in the community; sometimes, parents may receive
valuable property in return for their daughters. Girls may also be seen
as an economic burden if they do not work outside the home. Whatever
the reason, when girls are married at an early age, they dont usually get to make their own choice on this important
decision.
14. 70% of the world's poorest people are women; is this True? This is because women usually have not had as much schooling as men. Usually women are treated less fairly than men in their jobs. Women have less health care and healthy food. In many places women have fewer rights than men, such as the right to own land or houses or the right to inherit lands or houses.
How then do I pray?
How Then Do I Pray?
First sit with the Lord for awhile. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and help you. Ask the Lord, some questions:
"What are You feeling Lord, when You see these girl children suffering? "What are You thinking?" "What do You desire for these children?"
While
you are sitting with the Lord, read some Bible verses and pray these
verses for the girls, while you keep on listening to the Lord's own
heart for them.