An Open Letter to Dear Girls: Never Forget the Price Women Paid for Your Freedom

Dear Girls,

For the past few years, you have been at the center of mainstream news for the wrong reasons.

Crimes against women: Isn’t it terrifying to silence their voices through violence?

It is also worth noting here that our society framed rules to suit its own convenience; men deemed women inferior by citing their own physical strength, and over time—across generations—these rules evolved into unwritten laws.

It might sound like an old story that women suffered in silence, but it is true.

There were times when all the females in the society were suffering in silence…from being last in the priority list of their own family to facing humiliating negligence of near and dear ones for being women…your journey of life is more like a rollercoaster.

“Freedom is never inherited. Every generation must understand the price paid for it.”

I can enlist some of the humiliating practices women have faced for a long time, and they are still facing them, no matter how much time has passed.

• For generations, women who could not conceive were branded “barren,” and they would have to endure unbearable taunts.
• If a woman became pregnant, prayers were offered for the unborn child to be a boy; no one wanted a girl—not even the pregnant women themselves.
• The birth of a daughter was often met with silence rather than celebration. 
• Mothers could not even openly embrace their daughters; the atmosphere at home was such that having a daughter felt like a crime.
• In many rural areas and even in some wealthy households, there was a time when newborn baby girls were killed by being made to lick salt or were buried alive.
• Even when a girl survives through someone’s mercy, she is still denied the same rights and status within the household as boys, highlighting a tragic inequality that must be addressed.
• I have even read that in those days, newborn daughters were sometimes killed by making them inhale opium, or else abandoned in desolate places to die. Although many of these practices have significantly declined due to education, legal reforms, and social awareness, their legacy continues to influence attitudes toward girls. 
• Isn’t it a strange paradox? In a country where mythology accords girls the status of goddesses, girls were pleading merely for a chance to stay alive.
• Even if girls were fortunate enough to survive, they were denied education despite their intelligence. It was a time when people would say, “Educate the sons; daughters belong to another family, so why waste money on them?”
• There was a time when girls were married off before even reaching adolescence—when they were neither mentally nor physically mature—yet they were bound in matrimony, as if failing to marry before the onset of menstruation would leave them ‘cursed.’ What a pitiful mindset that was, isn’t it?
• Daughters are offspring too; yet, for centuries, society has inflicted such atrocities upon them that the mere thought of it makes one’s skin crawl.
• They had no voice of their own, no rights, no share in property, and no choices—and yet, they are a vital part of society… Is this not a contradiction?
• Even when things seemed to be going smoothly, women often faced discrimination after marriage. Despite being married off with a substantial dowry, they were expected to work hard in their in-laws’ homes and bear children as soon as possible; they had to limit contact with their own parents and could not raise their voices—and, even worse, some women were even killed over dowry-related issues.
• Some girls born into educated families or to parents with progressive views succeeded in obtaining an education and building careers. Yet, their situation remained unchanged; with few exceptions, society still did not free them from its constraints.
• Those were days when women and girls in society were actively undermined rather than supported; society would not even raise its voice for them—let alone speak up to secure justice for them.
• Then came technology that made it possible to determine whether the fetus in the womb was a boy or a girl; abortions were immediately performed once the sex was known, and society effectively stripped girls of the very right to be born.
• If you think that women in Western countries were perhaps always free and easily obtained their rights, you are mistaken. Even in Western countries, women had to struggle for their basic rights; for instance, women in New Zealand gained the right to vote for the first time in 1893—a global first. However, women in these countries were indeed relatively safe.
• There was a time when, if women achieved something remarkable or built a career, society would not only try to hold them back but also question their character. In other words, women have reached their current standing only after enduring countless insults and humiliations.

The Story of Women’s Struggle: From Fear to Standing Firm

It is not as if men alone are responsible for the deplorable state of women in society; women themselves bear responsibility for their plight because they endure abuse, fail to raise their voices against it, and blindly adhere to the very rules that effectively keep them captive. 

Like a never-ending chain reaction, women themselves contribute to their own wretched condition.

Women today need to understand that the freedom they enjoy is the result of the sacrifices and countless struggles of the generations that came before them; it is because of this legacy that they have reached a position where it is difficult to suppress or oppress them.

Recently, we have observed several incidents in which women have killed their partners, spouses, or family members—only they truly know their reasons for these actions. 

I can say that women from the previous generation could never have imagined such occurrences. 

Today, these events are becoming more common in our society.

We can only pray for humanity.

We have seen men behaving this way for centuries; they could—and still do—go to any lengths to prove their masculinity. 

In the past, it seemed as though women were expected to comply with their every word.

Today, incidents such as rape, trafficking of women, female foeticide, and dowry-related killings are spiraling out of control in society. 

Related Reading

• Crimes Against Women in India: A Shameful Criminal Record
• Increasing Atrocities on Women: Where Are We Heading?

Even as women become increasingly aware of their rights, they are facing atrocities on an even greater scale. 

The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that even women holding high-ranking positions are not safe.

Times have changed drastically, yet one thing remains the same: the animalistic nature of humans. 

When the beast within a person takes over, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong vanishes. 

For centuries, men have inflicted this cruelty upon women, and they continue to do so today. 

What is changing is that society is increasingly witnessing women being accused or convicted of violent crimes as well. 

While such cases remain far less common than violence committed against women, they remind us that cruelty is not confined to one gender.

Cases reported in the media involving women accused of violent crimes have sparked widespread public debate…—women are no longer shying away from committing heinous murders. 

It is worth pondering what changes in the environment have led to the continuous emergence of cases where women perpetrate acts of extreme cruelty.

Dear Girls: The Journey from Oppression to Empowerment 

Women may be underestimating the consequences of engaging in violence and breaking the law. 

Those who stray from the right path should reconsider their actions, keeping in mind the hard-won freedoms they enjoy—freedoms that were secured through the struggles of previous generations of women.

Dear girls, 

It is difficult to say; the next generation—which attained a certain lifestyle thanks to the immense struggles and sacrifices of the previous one—may have lost its true perspective or understanding upon gaining freedom, empowerment, comforts, and luxuries.

You don’t need to look far; reflect on your mother’s life. You will realize how many desires and dreams she suppressed within herself; she stood firm solely so that you would never have to face the circumstances she had endured. 

She never got what she naturally deserved, yet she is here to be a pillar of strength for her daughter. 

She may have accepted their fate, but she was there for you yesterday, she is here for you today, and tomorrow she will definitely be there to support you, no matter how detrimental situations would be in your path, she will never let the shadow of past horrifying practices cast a spell on your future.

Darling Girls,

In closing, I would like to send a direct message to daughters and young women: choosing the wrong path will never lead you to the destination that the women of the previous generation—who lived and passed away in silence—had once envisioned in their hearts. 

They paved the way for you through quiet struggle; please honor this freedom and strive to open up new paths for the generations to come.

A Final Word to Every Girl

Before You Read Further…

Take a moment to think about your mother or grandmother. How many dreams did they quietly set aside so that you could dream freely?

Dear Girls,

You are living in a time your grandmothers could only dream of, and your mothers quietly fought to make possible.

The opportunity to study, to choose a career, to express your opinions, to own property, to vote, to dream without apology, and to live with greater independence did not arrive overnight. 

It was earned through decades—indeed centuries—of courage, sacrifice, resistance, and resilience by countless women whose names history may never remember.

Do not allow this hard-earned freedom to become something taken for granted.

Use your education not merely to build a career but to build character. Use your independence not to dominate others but to uplift them. Use your voice not to spread hatred but to stand against injustice wherever it exists.

Remember that equality is not about replacing one form of oppression with another. It is about creating a society where dignity belongs equally to every human being, regardless of gender.

Your mother may never have told you every dream she sacrificed. Your grandmother may never have spoken about every humiliation she endured. Yet their silent battles helped create opportunities that now stand before you.

Honor their struggles by making thoughtful choices.

Honor their courage by refusing injustice.

Honor their dreams by becoming the kind of woman who leaves the world kinder, fairer, and more compassionate than she found it.

May the next generation inherit not only greater freedom, but also greater wisdom.

Let this be our shared promise—that no daughter of tomorrow will ever have to fight the battles that generations of women fought before her.

Because the greatest tribute we can offer to the women of the past is to build a future where every child, whether girl or boy, is born with equal dignity, equal opportunity, and equal hope.

Stand firm in your education.  

Champion your independence.  

Nurture your compassion.

Achieving true equality does not mean emulating those who once silenced others. Real empowerment comes from exercising your freedom with wisdom, responsibility, and empathy.

Together, let’s create a future where generations to come will never have to pen a letter like this.

<div class="ll-summary">

<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>

<ul>

<li>Women's rights were earned through generations of sacrifice.</li>

<li>Education transformed women's lives.</li>

<li>Legal reforms alone cannot change society without compassion.</li>

<li>Equality means dignity—not revenge.</li>

<li>The next generation must protect and strengthen these freedoms.</li>

</ul>

</div>

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