Empowering girls

Do we really need girls to be princesses? I see barbie dolls, I see parents referring to their daughters as princesses and all I want to do is scream out - no it is not right. I remember growing up, when I got into a physical fight with my brother and looked at my dad to help me out, all he said was, you have two hands, and legs just like your brother, fight your own battle, save yourself. It taught me to fight for my own battles, to be a warrior and not wait to be saved.

The west is generations ahead in terms of women's rights and I am so blessed to live in this society. Yet when I see parents treating their daughters to be princesses, I find it regressive. I feel disappointed when I see vain mothers, raising their daughters to be equally vain. There is this limitless opportunity for girls over here, to achieve anything they want, why teach them to seek for outside source to nourish their self-esteem? Self-esteem grows with accomplishment. Teach them to achieve, to compete with boys.Treat them to be equal.

We need more girls and women in well-paying jobs. In trades, in management, in politics. We need more doctors, lawyers, soldiers. We need to change the meaning  of tradition. I despise the word, because it represents blind faith - doing something because it has always been done that way.Foraging into male dominated careers also demands that men take up more roles in female dominated professions. The lines between provider and nurturer needs to be blurrier, if not totally erased. 

The time has come to redefine gender roles. Let kindness and respect be the qualities that women find  desirable in men . For true feminism, women have to change their perspective. Don't raise your daughters to be princesses, raise them to be queens - empower them with self-esteem and love and a positive body image. Raise your sons to admire strong women.