As the mother of two girls, the state of womanhood across the world worries me. It’s not even stories like the still-unresolved kidnappings of 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria. There’s enough bad stuff much closer to home: the suspension of fraternities at the University of Virginia in the wake of the Rolling Stone rape story; sexual attacks on campuses in general; the shocking disrespect shown his wife by Ray Rice; the catcall video that went viral. The violence against women comes in many forms.
The inequalities are a whole different part of the equation; for example, economically, in the United States, women make only 70-something cents on the dollar to what men make. Women still hit the glass ceiling in the working world, and opportunity often gets lost on the mommy track.
It’s hard to be of the female gender even in 2014, and Aasha Shaik, a junior at West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, can tell you that from her own experience.
“Walking through rural Annur, India, as a young girl, I’d wear clothes that covered me, in the ridiculous heat. I would wonder, is this what it means to be a girl? To cover my beautiful body at my own discomfort, because of what someone passing by might think?”
“Living in Bangalore, India, I’d hear about rapes and acid-throwings. I’d walk through even the most developed parts of the city and be whistled at.”
Even here at home, the burdens of the female sex are all too apparent to Aasha.
“I grew up watching women serve their husbands food, getting yelled at if dinner was not ready on time. I would think, is this what I must do? Be subservient to my husband?”
“As an American teenager, I see postings about girls going on diets or even starving themselves. Could being a girl really mean having to go to any extent to have the ‘perfect bikini body’?”
Aasha decided to turn her awareness about gender inequalities and abuses and her growing sense of outrage into activism. When she saw a posting on Facebook about a writing contest with the theme of what it means to be a girl, she leaped into the competition. Out of submissions from over 20 countries, her writing was chosen to be featured at the Girls Speak Out event at the United Nations in honor of the International Day of the Girl.
Additionally, there were auditions for girls in the New York area to perform. She was selected, and she offered to write a song that she and others would perform.
“I was so excited. I had been involved with Model U.N. at school, and to be given the opportunity to perform at the actual U.N., that was really important to me,” she said. “Rape, child marriage, these are real stories we are talking about, and to be able to tell them at this high level, it’s powerful to have such an impact. If we stand up together, we can bring change for gender equality.”
Performing something she had written gave Aasha a tremendous sense of accomplishment and purpose, convincing her to channel her experience into being an advocate for girls and women. “I’ve always known I wanted to do something to help people. Being able to have an impact with my song showed me that I would love to sing and write songs professionally.”
Aasha’s dad is a software engineer for Pfizer. Her mom stays at home. Her older sister is in medical school at Drexel University and a younger brother is in sixth grade at CMS. Aasha, who will be 16 years old next month, was born in the United States, but moved to India after attending seventh grade at Community Middle School. She lived in southern India, Bangalore, for a year to get to know her family there better, attending the prestigious Candor International School.
“I would turn on the news and hear about terrible attacks on women. Living there in a developing country further emphasized the importance of feminism and gender equality to me,” she said.
When Aasha returned to the United States, she placed out of ninth grade at High School North straight into her sophomore year. She co-runs a tutoring club at school, as well as another one featuring free one-on-one tutoring at the Plainsboro Rec Center. Plainsboro Peer tutoring pairs high achieving high school students with kids in the community, from kindergarten up to 10th grade.
Aasha also volunteers at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, and recently launched a new music therapy program called Music for the Soul. Students from North and South perform music for patients, going from room to room, to brighten their days.
So what does being a girl mean in 2014? According to Aasha:
“It means dancing in the rain and laughing until you cry and being strong enough to walk away in those fabulous high heels or sneakers or whatever you dig . . . being a girl is a million different things
I also know that being a girl means the exact same as being a boy — they mean whatever the hell you want. If you want to soar, to fly, to change the world, go for it, boy or girl, and don’t let anyone stop you.”
