Children are said to be a blessing from the Almighty. But being born as a girl is a whole different story.

“A 1-day old baby girl wrapped in a polythene bag and cloths was rescued when a stray dog was pulling on the bag on the Old Airport runway in the capital yesterday.” - The Daily Star, Bangladesh, Sept. 15, 2015

“A newborn baby girl was found abandoned at a garbage dump in Moula Ali (India) on Saturday morning.” - Deccan Chronicle, India, May 22, 2016

“A woman has reportedly forsaken her 7-day old baby as she was born a girl with some psychical complications.” - Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh, April 23, 2016

“'Guardian angel' girl, 9, saves the life of abandoned newborn baby after discovering her covered in maggots with umbilical cord and placenta still attached in her backyard.” (Indiana) - Daily Mail, UK, July 12, 2016

If they were the blessings of the Almighty, why were they thrown away as curses?

It may sound ludicrous, but sexism did not exist since the beginning of time. Rather, on the contrary, people used to worship "Mother Earth." But as people started to introduce more gods, they started worshiping the "Thunder God," Zeus. This was perhaps the start of any major sexism; from praying to an all-caring mother to worshiping an angry male god; showing how people then thought that males deserved more respect.

Even today, in every religion, which form the very foundations of our faith, God is portrayed as a male figure. Most of the religious leaders, angels and prophets are males too. Even when it comes to introducing genders to nature in literature, the sun, the source of energy and power is said to be a "he" whereas the moon, which shines with the light reflected off the mighty sun is said to be a "she." Thus in every part of our life, knowingly or unknowingly, we embrace sexism as nothing less than our second nature. But are we really aware of the impact that this has in our world, even while standing in this "modernized" 21st century?

Sexism is present in various forms today worldwide, even in the most developed countries. The points listed below are the results of gender discrimination.

Killings

1. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortion

Even today, in some parts of the world, giving birth to girls is considered to be a burden for the parents as they would bring nothing but heavy expenditure for the family. Giving birth to boys, on the other hand, is thought of as an investment. This is because males are said to be the earner of the family while the girls stay at home and prepare themselves to be married off; and hence girls are nothing but a waste of money. But getting pregnant with a child is not like ordering food in restaurant that you would be able to get just what you ordered. So what do you do when you don't like a certain type of toppings in your pizza? You throw it out. That's exactly what happens to the girls who dare to be born in this world ruled by the curse of discrimination. The difference is that some of them die in their mothers' wombs and some are killed after they are born or are just left to die by the roadside. The demand for sons among wealthy parents is often satisfied through provision of illegal service of fetal sex-determination and sex-selective abortion. The financial incentive for physicians to undertake this illegal activity seems to be often far greater than breaking the law.

Facts

In India, the census of 2011 shows decline of girl population (as a percentage of total population) under the age of 7, with activists estimating that 8 million female fetuses may have been aborted in the past decade.

2. Honor killings

Honor killings, unlike the name suggests, have nothing to do with honor; except perhaps killing the honor of humanity maybe. An honor killing, or shame killing, is the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, engaging in non-heterosexual relations or renouncing a faith. Even today, in different parts of the world including Pakistan, Middle East and India, honor killings are still practiced.

Facts

In Pakistan, women are expected to accept arranged marriages and refusal to do so may lead to honor killings which typically go uncontested by the government.

In the Middle East, honor killings are brought on by women engaging in homosexual acts or sexual acts outside marriage, or even for dressing too provocatively.

At least 1,000 honor killings occur in India and Pakistan annually.

Discrimination

Discrimination forms the basis of sexism. In various sectors of our world today, women are seen as to be inferior to men; and the only jobs that they are entitled to are cooking, giving birth and looking after their family. And yes, this still is the case in today's 21st century.

1. Education

Female education seems to be the cringe point for the sexists and the people who want women to remain inferior. Because once a woman is educated, she will be self-empowered, and not in need of a husband to support her financially, hence not indebted to bear his child and look after his family or bear his abuse. What some people fail to understand is that once a woman is educated, she won't be termed as a "burden" of the family; rather she could be the source of their support, much like a man. Napoleon once said, “Give me an educated mother, I shall promise you the birth of a civilized, educated nation." And that is what female education would do for the world. But sadly discrimination against female education prevents us to do so.

Women make up more than two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults, and access to education is especially problematic in countries like Afghanistan where groups that oppose female education attack many schools. Female rights are also compromised due to limited awareness of what they are truly entitled to, which could only be remedied through a greater access to education.

Fact:

Sixty-two million girls are denied education worldwide.

2. Marriage

Child marriage is perhaps one of the main reasons why women do not get the chance to be educated. Once married, women, adolescents and girls become property of husband's family. This limits their rights to inheritance and opportunities for schooling, thus perpetuating dependence and dis-empowerment. Child marriage does not only increase the chance of complications of giving birth that often prove fatal, but also contradicts the fundamental human right of choice of partnership.

Facts

According to UN, 40 percent of young women in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are married by their 18th birthday.

Every year, an estimated 15 million girls under 18 are married worldwide with little or no say in the matter.

3. Professional sectors

Even in developed countries like U.S., women are at a disadvantage when it comes to salary. Despite attempts to debunk the wage gap statistic, women nevertheless only earn 77 percent of what men earn for the same amount of work, with the same level of qualifications. At this rate it could take full 45 years before the wage gap disappears.

Although women nowadays work in almost every sector, there are some top power positions and front lines where women are not allowed to work. Even the number of women in world Parliament is of a limited number.

Facts:

Around the world, only 22% of all national parliamentarians are female.

While allowed to participate in the army, women are still not permitted to serve in front-line combat in the U.K., Turkey and Slovakia.

4. Law

When we suffer from any form of abuse or face any sort of legal problems, we seek the help of law. But sometimes in certain cases, in some countries, even law turns to a blind eye if the victim is a female.

In most of the Middle East, countries are governed by religion-based ideals. As men are typically viewed as superior, they can divorce their wives through merely oral renunciation. Women, on the other, hand face many more challenges.

In some countries, the courts automatically grant custody rights of children after divorce to the father and women are left without any means of financial support.

With the exception of Israel, Iran, Tunisia and parts of Egypt, women in Middle East do not have the right to pass citizenship on to their children. While men have the ability to not only pass it to their children but also to their non-national wives.

Women are often at a disadvantage in countries that acknowledge customary or religious law where sociocultural traditions effectively prohibit the ownership of land by females, even if their constitution claims equal rights.

Facts:

In Lebanon, abused women do not even have the right to file for a divorce unless an eyewitness is willing to testify.

In Bahrain, family laws are not systematized enabling judges to deny mothers custody of their children.

In Zambia, women and men are allowed to acquire a registered land title, but customary land tenure is also recognized making it unlikely for a woman to be allocated land without the approval of her husband.

5. Society

Social custom, mentality and rituals plays a huge role in discrimination of women. Veiling and adherence to purdah remain domains of contestation in regards to whether they serve as vehicles of empowerment or discrimination while seen in western discourse as restrictive of women's rights, some claim that burkas allow for better freedom of movement in Bangladesh. Why? Because males can't control themselves if they see even a shred of women's skin. If a man runs around the street naked, it's not against any religious law, but God forbid if a woman walks the street without a scarf. She is just asking to be raped, according to some. Women face teasing and sexual harassment on a daily basis in public, yet people either choose to ignore it or blame it on the woman for being too "provocative." Even if a girl confides to her family about it, her family would tell her to dress more "decently" rather than taking steps against the perpetrators. Even law enforcement in many countries do not take any actions against such crimes. Hence the manly men who rape women gain the audacity to defend themselves proudly stating that "the girl was asking to be raped with the clothes she was wearing."

It is because of such backward mentality of the society that women can't even shout for help even when they are being physically abused at home by their husbands. People remain ignorant to domestic violence as they think that the husband can do whatever they want with their wives and thus close their doors to the screaming of the woman being lying on the floor being beaten with the husband's belt.

Facts

In Turkey, there is no protection for women being abused, there are no shelters or help for women in dangerous circumstances.

In Nepal, if a woman is raped or assaulted the perpetrators are not punished, they aren't even arrested.

Thus, a newborn baby girl opens her eyes to the world which is full of discrimination which she has to face perhaps from the very moment she's in her mother's womb; discrimination which will only get worse as she grows up, violence she has to face, obstacles that are in place for her, the ruthless cold hard society that she has to live in; her only fault being that she is a girl. Only if she knew that when she opened her eyes to the seemingly colorful world, she would know that being born as a girl, is nothing less than a curse.