Girls and Young Women

Girls and young women have over the years been prone to social ills compared to their male counterparts. They have been victims of abuse, sexual, physical, and emotional. Sexual abuse has led them to go through ordeals such as child or teenage pregnancies, rape, child marriage, forced marriage or arranged marriages, sexual mutilations, and forced prostitution etc. Physical abuse on the other side spans from any kind of violence they have to encounter, be it beatings or the before mentioned sexual abuses as they are all physical. Emotional abuse entails the emotional scars they have to carry due to what they are forced to see and all verbal abuse they go through.

In modern times it has become norm for women to be left to single handedly raise their children alone because of absent fathers. This could be due to many factors, divorce being one of the major ones. Divorce rates have escalated in recent years, together with the number of single mothers. Many cultures used to perceive females as the minority lot while males were the strong holds of the societies. This particular trait put young women and girls on the background and has since instilled inequality among males and females. Women activists have been fighting for a fair treatment among both genders and the message has gone through to some, but a great number of people still cannot succumb to the idea. With recent equality messages being sent across the globe, women now have the chance at fair employment opportunities, education, political status, social status and so forth.

Efforts can be combined by governments and relevant stakeholders to transform gender norms and attitudes. There is a need to protect girls and young women hence strict laws should be enhanced to deal with matters concerning them.