Let´s empower our girls

Family is essential to prevent violence against women, so it is super important to raise free, strong, confident and independent girls. We have some tips for you to encourage your little girl to make her own decisions.

Avoid saying no

Dr. Marisol Pérez Ramos, an academic from the Department of Sociology at the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), recommends that parents let their daughters make decisions from an early age, not overprotecting them and avoiding telling them no always.

With this simple piece of advice, from an early age, you teach them that their opinion is important.

“Regularly, girls are overprotected from not falling down, or getting dirty; the best thing is that the girls are free, that they fall, that they get dirty. You have to avoid saying “no” all the time, you have to let them experience new paths, get on the games and give them the confidence that they are able to do things”, she expresses.

Marisol Pérez Ramos, academic at UAM

Help empower your girls

Doctor Pérez Ramos comments that, instead of scolding the little ones, their confidence should be encouraged and supported if they make a mistake; you can change the scolding for positive expressions that encourage them to continue discovering their abilities.

“We can say the opposite: You can keep trying and next time you will do it. I mean change negative expressions for positive reinforcement and reduce scolding”.

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Avoid gender stereotypes

Gender stereotypes, in general, are those that condition our behavior and attitudes according to our biological sex. For example, pink, or characteristics such as fragility, are often associated with girls.

About hosehold chores

The UAM researcher recommends that girls should not be limited in their activities or tastes, but also avoid teaching them that household chores are exclusively for them, that they involve all family members.

“These types of limitations are all about gender violence, as well as the fact that girls are the ones who serve the food or do the chores. Nor should we tell them to always be nice or kind because it is a way of conditioning their behavior”, she explains.

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Do not compare girls with their brothers

Expressions like, “Your brother is allowed because he is a boy” is also a way of limiting girls. This encourages the propagation of gender stereotypes.

“Sometimes dads usually take their sons to soccer games and leave their daughters behind because they are girls. This is an example of a discriminatory process”, she highlights.

Our family is essential to prevent gender violence, so it is super important to foster confidence in our girls to empower them and make them free to achieve each one of their goals.

Translated by: Ligia Mabel Oliver Manrique de Lara

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