Sweet and Sour: Happy Day of the Girl

Yesterday was the Day of the Girl, celebrating and recognizing girls' rights. It's awesome to have a day that's just for us. But it's also important to have this day because it draws everyone's attention to the important issues that girls face. It's especially important because girls often face inequality at school, home, in the community and in the workplace.

As a girl living in Canada, I don't always notice these disparities, but for other girls around the world, they live it on a daily basis.

Sometimes perceptions about what girls can and can't do show up in my own life. This summer I was travelling by train, and I was sitting right next to the handle for the emergency window in the compartment I shared with many other people. The attendant came and told the man infront of me how to use it, not me. He would have had to get up, walk around, reach over me, and then pull the handle...something I could have done in one reach. I have no idea if the attendant's reason for telling that man to be responsible for it and not me was because I'm a girl, but it sure felt that way. But, this type of thing only happens rarely in my life.

It can be hard to talk about the lack of girls' rights when so many girls in Canada are going to university, getting good jobs, and are equal partners in their families and relationships. But until all girls are able to have those rights, the Day of the Girl will be both a happy and sad day.

Just to end this post on a good note, HAPPY DAY OF THE GIRL!